The positive assessments are based above all on visible military cooperation, the defence alliance and security guarantees (both in bilateral relations and within NATO), evidence of which is the presence of American forces and military equipment in Poland. Unquestionably, according to Polish public opinion, the issue of the amendment to the Institute of National Remembrance Act has cast a shadow over mutual relations, as does the US policy on visas for Poles, and the strong sense of inequality in relations between Poland and the USA. It is worth adding that reasons given for a particular assessment were frequently qualified, and contentious issues, such as the Institute of National Remembrance Act and the lack of a decision to abolish visas for Polish people, were mentioned even by those interviewees who thought relations were good, while various positives were mentioned by those who thought relations were poor.
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