Vice president Joseph R. Biden uncorked his latest head-scratcher while visiting Warsaw — claiming he used his chairman post on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to lead Poland to join NATO.
Only he didn’t.
Mr. Biden chaired the committee between 2001 and 2003. Poland, on the other hand, joined with NATO in 1999.
But Mr. Biden said, The Hill reported: “Fifteen years ago, I was honored, as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, to lead the fight for Poland’s admission into NATO.”
The remark came while Mr. Biden was visiting Warsaw to settle Polish nerves over Russia’s assault on Ukraine.
So who did head up the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Poland joined NATO?
That would be former Sen. Jesse Helms, the now-deceased Republican from South Carolina, who actually started floor debate about the issue, Bloomberg first reported.
Mr. Biden did, however, take the reins on bringing Democrats into the fold and to sign onto the treaty resolution that Mr. Helms forged — the one that included Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic and that ultimately led to all three entering into union with NATO, Bloomberg reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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