The head of the Ministry of National Defense on the audit in the ministry 2016.

Kraków 2016-05-11

Ministry of National Defence.

"When I entered the Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland did not have the ability to ensure the security of the state’s territory, airspace, key state management facilities, or cyberspace," Minister Antoni Macierewicz said in the Sejm on Wednesday, presenting information on the audit at the Ministry of National Defense.

As emphasized by the head of the Ministry of National Defense, corrective actions have already been implemented in all areas. He stressed that the information he will present will be limited – (…) not because of the desire to save the PO, but because of the interest of the Polish state, because showing everything would jeopardize it. It was so bad – he added.

• Many of you should not be criticized, but have penal consequences for what you have done – said the minister, addressing politicians from the PO and PSL.

Minister Macierewicz stated that when he took office, the Polish army was only capable of carrying out limited actions delaying the aggressor’s actions. No real help was provided from the allied states. – At the same time, he emphasized that – the troops were concentrated on the western border – as if the greatest threat was threatened from there – leaving the eastern flank unprotected and leaving the population in a state of uncertainty.

• In some aspects – and the military is certainly one of them – the current team took over a period of domination of the environment, which had different names, but always consisted of the same people and always had the same approach to security, said the minister.

• This environment in question treated the Polish army at the very end – it was famous for its liquidation, waste, corruption and demoralization of the army. It left behind a bad inheritance and a bad fame – said A. Macierewicz.

• After 2007, the heads of the Ministry of National Defense incorrectly assessed Russia’s intentions towards Poland and other European countries – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense. – The result of this assessment was the thesis contained in the main directions of development of the national security system established by former president Bronisław Komorowski. This thesis stated that the threat to Poland in the form of a major armed conflict in the Central and Eastern part of Europe in the next 20 years is and will remain very unlikely. There will be no war in Europe, and especially there will be no war as a result of the aggression and actions of the Russian Federation. This document, in the shape of a white book, the official position of the head of the armed forces, Minister Siemoniak and all those responsible for the security of the Polish state, was published two months before the Russian aggression on Ukraine, emphasized Minister Macierewicz.

• What has Poland done to you that you left it so defenseless? What must have happened in the armed forces, what must have happened in your head, that when everything indicated that the worst conflict, the greatest danger, the greatest threat to our country, you proclaimed security on the Russian side, and the minister of foreign affairs in your government stated that Russia would soon become a NATO member, asked the PO-PSL deputies.

Antoni Macierewicz also spoke about the plans of the previous team regarding the development of the armed forces.

• Planning of the development of the armed forces was based on a fixed number of battalions capable of direct defense operations. Neither the data on the increase of the enemy’s hypothetical potential nor the issue of recovering losses in the course of possible defense actions was taken into account. Such planning can hardly be called mere incompetence. It was a deliberate act to the detriment of the Polish state – emphasized the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

Referring to the financing of the armed forces in 2008–2015, the minister emphasized that the obligation to allocate 1.95 percent of GDP for defense purposes was systematically violated. – During the period of the PO and PSL government, the level of financing defense needs was in the range of 1.69 percent. up to 1.93 percent GDP. Not once did it reach the statutory, obligatory amount of 1.95 percent. GDP. You have systematically broken the law, you have systematically endangered the security of the Polish state – said the minister to the deputies of the PO-PSL.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense said that in 2010–2015 PLN 50 billion was spent on the implementation of the development programs of the Armed Forces. – At the same time, none of the programs for which PLN 50 billion was spent at that time, has not been completed then or to this day – he added.

• What happened to this money, I ask you from the PO and PSL, where did PLN 50 billion go? Let us add that from this amount only PLN 2 billion a year went to Polish enterprises, the rest was spent on foreign enterprises. Everything else financed economic growth, prevented unemployment, and prevented social and economic problems in other countries. Countries as poor, so in need of our support, such as Germany, France and other countries, said the minister. Referring to the activities of the services, the minister informed that the Military Counterintelligence Service unlawfully and unjustified surveillance of more than 20 opposition politicians, including Prime Minister Jan Olszewski, who had been inactive for a long time and had been inactive in public and politics.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense added that journalists were also under surveillance, including from the editorial office of TVP, Gazeta Polska, Nasz Dziennik, Radio Maryja and Telewizja Trwam, as well as employees of the Chancellery of President Lech Kaczyński, deputies’ offices and law firms. – The material was collected with the clear purpose of mutual accounts of the under surveillance, although they were not and could not be related to the subject of the operations conducted by the SKW – said Minister Macierewicz.

He also said that inspired by, in particular, the former chief military prosecutor, Col. Ryszard Parulski, SKW took steps to establish the contacts of prosecutor Marek Pasionek. – Only because during the Smolensk investigation he asked the USA for information that the American services could have on the course of this terrible catastrophe – explained the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

• That is why you undertook surveillance activities of this brave, righteous prosecutor. This is a disgrace. For the fact that someone wanted to do something for Poland, you persecuted him. You rewarded the president with a promotion for not taking care of the president’s safety. This is your morality, these are your values ​​- said the minister to the opposition.

• The matter of selecting prosecutors to conduct the Smolensk investigation requires a separate analysis – said Antoni Macierewicz. – In some cases, there are indications that (…) persons, military prosecutors, who had previously credited themselves by their readiness to move to the agenda of crimes affecting the security of the Polish state, were selected, said the minister. – This applies to at least one of the main prosecutors of the Smolensk investigation, who discontinued the proceedings on the falsification of several dozen certificates of access to top secret information by soldiers of the Military Information Services. Such a notification about the falsification of such certificates by the WSI soldiers was submitted to this prosecutor, and he canceled them – informed the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

• Later, these officers, having these certificates, were sent to NATO, to the Headquarters, to the attachats, representing the Polish state; they had access to top secret information, said the minister. – Communist journalism then said: "how wonderful people, admittedly of communist origin, but NATO believes them." It was not NATO that believed them, we lied to NATO – emphasized the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

• Activities in the field of explaining the causes of the Polish Tu-154 plane crash over Smolensk on April 10, 2010 were carried out in a way that made it impossible to determine the actual causes and course of events, and even supporting Russian disinformation information in this regard – Minister Macierewicz said during his speech in the Sejm.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense added that such activities were carried out by the military intelligence and counterintelligence services and the Supreme Military Prosecutor’s Office. – Unfortunately, part of the command staff who did not have the courage to stand up for their president, their chief of staff, or their commanders of the types of armed forces who died near Smolensk, also joined in – added the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

As he emphasized, the SKW and the SWW did not make any analysis of the information they had about the Smolensk catastrophe. – They provided the prosecution with the data they had, but in such a way that their real meaning and actual content could not be read. Key documents, including those relating to the trajectory of the Tu-154 in the last phase of the flight, have been hidden – said A. Macierewicz. As he noted, these documents were not submitted to the prosecutor’s office.

• The services took an active part in falsifying and concealing information. The fact of consent was also concealed in this way – on April 15, there is a protocol of this event, – for the non-examination of the remains of the victims by the Russians, as well as information that has been coming to the Ministry of National Defense since September 2010 that the bodies of the victims were changed. For nearly two years, you have deceived the public in this matter – said the minister to his predecessors in the Ministry of National Defense. He added that some of the documentation related to this matter was tried by the SKW management as part of the NATO Counterintelligence Expert Center that was being created. The center itself – was organized abusing NATO’s trust and aimed at creating a center excluded from the supervision of the Polish authorities.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense also said that in the spring of 2010, without the statutory consent of the Polish authorities, the Military Counterintelligence Service started cooperation with the Russian Federal Security Service in the field of contacts and information exchange. – Weeks after the Smolensk drama, the security of military cooperation with the Russian Federation was ensured, enabling the officers of the Russian Federation to penetrate the Polish security system – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense. He noted that the Russians were even admitted to the local bodies of the SKW, and the chiefs of this service traveled to St. Petersburg and Moscow and – advertised the symbol of the Soviet revolution – the cruiser Aurora. This is your way of approaching international relations, said A. Macierewicz to the previous rulers.

• Under the PO-PSL rule, there was to be less army and less defense – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense in the Sejm. He also emphasized that the change of the command system introduced at the beginning of 2014, inspired by President Bronisław Komorowski, did not put the system in order, (…) on the contrary, it caused ambiguities in the division of powers between the command authorities and the cause of the lack of uniformity of command. The professionalisation of the army – added the head of the Ministry of National Defense – resulted not only in a reduction in the number of personnel, but also significantly limited the possibility of replenishing reserves.

The minister again negatively assessed the principle of a maximum 12-year long service of professional privates – despite the staff shortages present in the units. The head of the Ministry of National Defense said that the limits of appointing people willing to enter the professional service were not used, and although medical boards qualified over 82 percent for service. less than 50 percent of those willing to participate in the exercises were accepted. "Not for health reasons, but because there was no desire to exercise more," he added. – There were supposed to be fewer soldiers, less young people who are trained, there was to be less army, less defense and less patriotism in Poland, this was the philosophy of the Civic Platform in the field of state security – said Minister Macierewicz.

• The armed forces modernization program has been misleading the public from the very beginning – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense. The minister said that the decisions of his predecessors in the Ministry of National Defense – Bogdan Klich and Tomasz Siemoniak on the definition of procedures for acquiring weapons and military equipment did not serve the transparency of spending public funds, but were an instrument of deliberate and deliberate blurring of traces and blurring the responsibility of those planning and carrying out purchases.

• The armed forces modernization program has unfortunately been misleading the public from the very beginning, and this is the most delicate formulation I can use in this matter. It provided for the implementation of 14 operational programs within 10 years, for the financing of which initially PLN 91 billion was allocated (…), but the actual cost of the purchases included in the program was calculated by the Supreme Audit Office at PLN 235 billion and without operating costs – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense.

• It was known from the very beginning that this whole program was unrealistic, that it would never be implemented – emphasized the minister.

• The main cause of the pathology was the emergence and undisturbed operation of a network of corrupt connections linking politicians with some of the management of the ministry and the command of the armed forces, and with some entrepreneurs and lobbyists of foreign companies, often operating under the influence of foreign special services, and undisturbed during the ruling period by the PO-PSL coalition. This network also reached key government officials and management boards of defense companies, said the minister.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense mentioned, among others modernization of armored and mechanized troops, where – as he said – money was allocated to 10 percent. adopted plans. – How were we supposed to defend ourselves, how were the Polish armored forces to be modernized, if you simply misled the public opinion, allies, and above all the army and soldiers, deceiving with trinkets that there would be money, knowing that there would be no money, knowing that all this "is the whole truth around the clock" – asked the minister.

The head of the Ministry of National Defense added that the modernization program was turned into a "feeding program" on budget funds, because the release of the guaranteed PLN 91 billion could not be guaranteed and could not bring about a technological leap and an increase in the production potential of the arms industry. He also noted that Polish enterprises received only PLN 2 billion out of the PLN 50 billion spent. Minister Macierewicz included the most glaring examples of lack of thrift in the Gawron type corvette, which has been built for 15 years for over PLN 1 billion, still unfinished, despite the decision in 2012 that the ship will be a patrol ship. Among the allegations, he also mentioned the decision – wrong – to stop work on the modernization of the Polish PT-91 Twardy tanks and to obtain used Leopard 2 tanks from the surplus of the Bundeswehr.According to the head of the Ministry of National Defense, the absurdity and wastage in acquiring weapons is best shown by the production of a modern 120 mm Rak mortar for PLN 1.1 billion, with simultaneous resignation – by decision of min. Siemoniak – from the production of ammunition for him. Minister Macierewicz emphasized that the 200 Rosomak wheeled armored personnel carriers manufactured in the last three years "stand and wastefully" because communications purchases were not provided.

• Two large gangs, two criminal lobbies within your military structures are arguing which of them is to make this communication and you were not able to settle this dispute between these lobbies – said the head of the Ministry of National Defense to his predecessors. – This issue has already been settled and none of these lobbies will get this contract – emphasized the minister.

Ministry of National Defence. Written by Karol Placha Hetman