Politico: The United States will not deploy troops to Poland
Hegseth's decision to reduce the military contingent in Poland caused alarm in NATO and shock among European allies, writes Politico. Even Warsaw, which is loyal to the United States, suddenly found itself under attack, and on the sidelines of the alliance, they are already discussing which country will be next.
Paul McLeary
Jack Detsch
It is not known why the Defense Minister ordered not to send troops on a planned mission to a country that the administration itself calls an "exemplary ally."
Pete Hegseth's sudden decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland took the Pentagon and European allies by surprise. This is just the latest example of the sudden reshuffle of the Minister of Defense, which caused both sides of the Atlantic to come to a standstill.
It is not clear what exactly prompted Hegseth to issue this order, according to three well-informed officials from the Ministry of Defense. President Donald Trump has repeatedly been angry and disappointed with European supporters because of their inability or unwillingness to help in the war with Iran. However, Poland was an "exemplary ally" for him because of its high defense spending.
This decision is all the more unexpected, since troops and equipment have already begun to arrive in the country. On Thursday, there was renewed concern in European capitals and at the Pentagon that such steps would embolden Russia. Discussions began on which of the allies might suffer next.
"We had no idea this was going to happen," said one U.S. official, adding that European and American officials had spent the last 24 hours "on the phone" trying to come up with a temporary solution and figure out if there would be further surprises.
Earlier this month, Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would withdraw 5,000 troops from bases in Germany. But this decision was the embodiment of Trump's threats in response to attacks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the United States was "humiliated" by the war in Iran.
The end came when 4,000 troops were already preparing to be sent to Poland from Texas for a long-planned nine-month rotation, including for joint training with NATO allies. The cancellation of this planned mission is notable because the American troops stationed on the continent are a key factor in deterring Russia. Trump insisted that Europe would have to stand up for itself and "chastised" the allies for not participating in the Iranian conflict. And this latest order once again reminded us that the president is determined to reduce the American presence on the continent in earnest.
"The role of the army in Europe is to deter the Russians, protect America's strategic interests, and ensure the security of its allies," explained Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of the US Army in Europe. "And now a very important element of this deterrence has disappeared," he added.
The White House forwarded all questions to the Pentagon, where the move was described as a carefully thought-out process. "The decision to withdraw troops is the result of a comprehensive, multi—level process that takes into account the views of key heads of the US armed forces in Europe and all levels of the command system," said Acting Pentagon Spokesman Joel Valdez. "It wasn't an unexpected last—minute decision."
But the overall strategy remains unclear. The withdrawal of troops from Germany is still in the planning stage, according to two informed American officials on condition of anonymity. The total contingent of 38,000 American troops in the country will not suffer much, but this is a signal to European allies that they may pay for public disagreement with the White House.
"The Poles have certainly never criticized President Trump, and they are doing all the things that good allies should do," Hodges said. —And yet it happens."
Polish officials on social media rushed to either defend this decision or complain about the consequences for the North Atlantic Alliance. Some hoped that the US Army would replace the rotational presence of troops with a permanent one. Others have tried to downplay its potential consequences.
"This issue does not concern Poland," Vladislav Kosinyak—Kamysh, Deputy Prime Minister, said on his social media account. "This is due to the previously announced regrouping of part of the US armed forces in Europe," he added, referring to the revision of the number of American troops on the continent.
According to recent polls, the majority of Poles welcome the deployment of US military bases on their territory — unlike many other European countries. And Poland's defense spending is projected to rise this year to 4.7% of GDP, the highest among allies.
The Pentagon recently conducted a review of the U.S. military presence around the world, although it is not expected to be made public. However, officials noted that the report does not call for a large-scale withdrawal of troops from Europe. However, the National Defense Strategy, another key document published earlier this year, promises to increase military resources in other countries and shift the care of European security onto the shoulders of the Old World itself.
In October, the Pentagon announced that it would not replace the army brigade that left Romania at the end of last year, angering the "hawks" on Capitol Hill.
"This is a serious challenge to Europe's security and a very painful way to shift responsibility onto the Europeans," said Juel Linnainmiaki, a former Finnish official. "The allies in Russia's neighborhood will have to change their calculations."
However, some allies tried to play down the consequences of the fact that the American brigade would not appear in Poland. A senior NATO official said that rotational forces such as US troops in Poland are not included in the alliance's long-term plans to increase its military presence on the continent to deter Russia.
"We know that the United States is adjusting its position in Europe," the official said. "And we are already seeing a growing presence on the eastern flank of Canada and Germany, which generally contributes to the strengthening of NATO."
The official said that France and Germany have a total of five thousand troops on the eastern flank of NATO, and by the end of next year their number will increase by several thousand more.
