The draft is meant to adapt national defences to hybrid, cyber and disinformation threats and to improve cooperation between the army and internal security services.
Gen. Roman Polko, a former commander of the GROM special forces unit, told Polish Radio 24 that existing law has no category for the situation Poland now faces.
"We have to define a state that we are dealing with and that effectively does not exist in legal acts", he said. He called for a defence strategy and for the concept of "hybrid war" to be written into Polish law.
Current rules, Polko said, are built mainly for peacetime, while a threat demands more freedom of action. "The restrictions should be lifted to the extent that the military can act effectively," he said.
He singled out how potential targets are identified, which he argued cannot continue as it is if provocations are to be countered. He also criticised peacetime red tape that slows troop movements, a problem he said extends across Europe, and said military vehicles should be able to move quickly during crises such as terrorist attacks on military sites.
The planned rules would also speed up troop deployments, link Poland's Defence Response Plan to the NATO Response System and prepare infrastructure for military operations. More units would join the permanent defence-readiness duty system, and training would be adapted to threat conditions.
Polko backed Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk's view that many "Gordian knots" must be cut.
"Not to wind up a war spiral, but to strengthen our resilience and defence capabilities", he said.
(jh)
Source: Polskie Radio 24