It was a stupid political act,

It was a stupid political act ... today I deeply regret it but at the time I could not act otherwise. It was a political decision,

There were three causes that accounted for the proclamation of martial law in Poland. First it was the progressing economic ruin of the country. Second, it was the decomposition of the functioning of the state. And third, a threat of a civil war.

Thank goodness we don't live in medieval times, when people fought wars over ideas.

But, in 1968, I was the defense minister implementing a political decision, convinced that there were grounds for that on the basis of the information available to us then.

I do not have to look for credentials for my Polishness and for my patriotism. I'm a Pole. The chronicles of my family go back - as far back as the 13th century.