Pentagon cancels plans to send 4,000 troops to Poland, sparking outrage – National
The Pentagon has canceled plans to send 4,000 US troops to Poland, two US officials said, a surprise decision by lawmakers that has renewed questions about President Donald Trump's expected troop reductions in Europe.
General Christopher LaNeve, acting chief of staff at the Army, confirmed the decision when he testified Friday before the House Armed Services Committee. But he did little to explain it, other than to say that “it made a lot of sense for that group not to do their deployment in the theater.”
Joe Courtney, a Democratic congressman, told LaNeve that the decision sent a “bad message” about Trump's commitment to Europe.
“Actually, it's not just our enemies who are paying attention. It's our friends,” Courtney said.
The top Republican on the committee, Mike Rogers, and the top Democrat, Adam Smith, both criticized the move and expressed anger that Congress was not notified or consulted, as required.
“We don't know what's going on here, but I can just tell you, we're not happy with what's being talked about, especially since there's been no official consultation with us,” Rogers said, warning Congress that it would bring “pain” to the Pentagon if it tried to go below minimum troop levels in Europe.
Smith noted that the Army had already sent a team to Poland to prepare for the deployment and that equipment was already being deployed when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth landed.
“It's a very good decision, at the last minute, to pull the team you're trying to send there. If there's a strategy behind it, you have to know and you have to be able to touch it,” Smith said.
Two weeks ago the Pentagon announced that it would withdraw 5,000 troops from the NATO alliance with Germany, in part because of the growing rift over the Iran war between Trump and Europe. It was not clear whether Poland's decision was intended to achieve that reduction, as US forces redeploy in Europe, another US official told Reuters.
An American official, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said that the troops who were supposed to be deployed to Poland may appear elsewhere.
However, LaNeve declined to speculate on the rotation of troops to Poland from elsewhere in Europe, saying that would be up to the US military commander in Europe.
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Don Bacon, a Republican representative from Nebraska, said he spoke with Polish officials and said they were shocked by the decision, which he called “disgraceful” and “a disgrace to our country.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had received assurances that Poland's security would not be affected by any decisions regarding the presence of American troops.
“I received assurances, and this is important for me, that these decisions are natural and will not directly affect our deterrence and security,” he told a news conference on Friday.
The US has been reviewing its military presence in Europe and has long been expected to scale back following Trump's demands that NATO play a greater role in protecting Europe. The Pentagon has yet to provide details on how it envisions the future deployment of troops across the continent.
As lawmakers expressed anger and confusion over Poland's decision, the Pentagon said it was following a “comprehensive, multidisciplinary process.”
“This was not an unexpected, last-minute decision, and it would be a lie to report it as such,” Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez said.
Trump was also upset that European allies did not join the US war against Iran, and he fell out with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said last month that the Iranians were embarrassing the US in negotiations.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters that Poland's decision appeared surprising.
“As far as I know, we were not informed about it,” he told reporters.
When Germany's withdrawal was announced, a top US official said it would restore US troop levels in Europe to pre-2022 levels, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted the formation of then-President Joe Biden.
The latest troop withdrawal decisions also came amid growing pressure from Washington on European countries to increase defense spending, and allegations that reliance on the US military has allowed them to neglect their own troops.
Reuters exclusively reported last month an internal Pentagon email that outlined options for punishing NATO allies Washington believes have failed to support US operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain from NATO and revising the US position on Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands.
Alarmed by Trump's past criticism of NATO, lawmakers from both parties last year backed a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, that prevents troop levels in Europe from falling below 76,000. Trump signed the measure into law in December.
Nokho, abaphathi banenkululeko ethile. The NDAA provision allows the president to reduce troop levels below 76,000 if he ensures he consults with NATO allies and provides an independent assessment of how it will affect US security, the alliance and deterring Russian aggression.
Still, Rogers warned his committee that it would act if it tried to drop below 76,000.
NATO's top military officer, commenting on the role of allied forces, said that mobile forces are not an important part of the alliance's planning.
“Rotational troops do not participate in NATO's deterrence and defense systems,” the official said. “NATO will continue to have a strong presence in its Eastern region, especially the Canadian and German forces there. The Alliance is still in discussions with the relevant authorities on this issue.”
At the end of last year, there were about 85,000 US troops in Europe.
