The Pentagon has made a surprise decision to cancel the deployment of 4,000 US troops to Poland, and two Polish Defense Ministry officials have traveled to Washington to explain the situation, Politico reports.
Polish Deputy Defense Ministers PaweÅ‚ Zalewski and Cezary Tomczyk will seek to clarify details of what Zalewski called a “incident.” Zalewski told TOK FM radio on the morning of May 18 that no one in Poland knew that the planned rotation of troops would be stopped.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has stunned Warsaw by halting a long-planned deployment of troops to Poland. Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez said the decision was not made at the last minute.
There are about 10,000 US troops in Poland, most of whom are on rotation at military bases in the country, and Warsaw sees the American presence as essential to protecting itself against Russia. Hegseth’s decision has been criticized in Washington by representatives of both parties, and Poland is confused by the minister’s decision. The US had previously said it would withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany. It came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized US and Israeli attacks on Iran, but Poland has not made such criticism and is a member of NATO with the highest defense spending as a percentage of GDP.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that the Poles are the most loyal allies and that Americans should remember that.
Tusk linked the US decision to logistical issues, adding that it would not have a direct impact on Poland’s defense capabilities.
Polish surprise was underscored by Defense Minister WÅ‚adysÅ‚aw Kosiniak-Kamysz, who said he had never been informed of the U.S. plan to reduce its troop presence in Poland. He said he understood that a process of realignment was underway, but that it should not come at the expense of such a strong ally as Poland: “We are a proven and reliable ally, which is why we expect partnership, friendship and a good exchange of information.”
Kosiniak-Kamysz and the commander of the Polish Armed Forces, Wiesław Kukuła, are scheduled to meet this week with the chairman of the U.S. Army Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, and the top US general in Europe, Alexus Grynkewich.
Poland is a close US political and military ally, and one of the largest buyers of U.S. weapons in Europe. KosiÅ„ska-KamiÅ› stressed that US President Donald Trump had previously promised not to reduce the number of US troops in Poland. Tusk’s government and Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who is friendly to the US right, usually express different views, but both sides insist that Poland is a staunch ally for Washington. Tusk said that it was not the Poles’ task to review the new US strategy, but he wanted to remind them that the Americans have friends in Poland.
Nawrocki’s foreign policy adviser, Marcin Przydacz, told a news conference in Rome that the government could definitely count on the president’s support, as this was a matter of Polish security. However, Przydacz suggested that Tusk’s statements about doubting US loyalty to European defense might have been unhelpful. The adviser said he was calling on the government to rein in the anti-US narrative because it was not helpful – it was not useful for Poland’s security – and it was irresponsible. Tusk responded by saying that no one should be tempted to risk Poland’s security for short-term political interests.
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