The Polish government responded nervously. Some politicians voiced concern that the country would lose its special status in Washington, and that the move by Obama was to appease Moscow. Jarosław Gowin, a member of Poland's governing Civic Platform party, said Obama's decision had been made independently of Polish sensitivities. Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa said he was deeply disappointed by the new US administration's plans. He stated: "The Americans have always only taken care of their own interests and they have used everyone else." According to a September 18, 2009, poll, 56 percent of Poles supported Obama's decision and only 30 percent were against it. Jarosław Kaczyński, the leader of the main Polish opposition party, claimed that the decision of abandoning the shield being announced on September 17 was not an accident. (The date is of great symbolic value to Poland, as on September 17, 1939, Poland was invaded by the Soviet Union). Polish newspapers showed mixed responses to the discontinuation, with some seeing it as a positive action, and some seeing it having very negative connotations.