U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday there had been “major progress” toward establishing an American military base in Poland, after Warsaw said it was holding talks with Washington on the issue.
Trump’s announcement comes amid concerns among allies that the United States could reduce its military presence in Europe, as the Pentagon conducts a formal review of U.S. troop deployments on the continent.
“Thanks to the bold leadership of my friend, Karol Nawrocki, President of Poland, major progress is being made toward establishing a U.S. Army base in Poland. If this happens, the location will be announced very soon. This will be a historic step for our Great U.S./Polish Alliance,” Trump said on social media.
Poland, which borders both Ukraine and Russia on NATO’s eastern flank, spends about five percent of its GDP on defense. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his country would continue its efforts to strengthen defense cooperation with the United States and that Poland’s government would work to provide “the best possible location for the U.S. Army base.” Around 10,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Poland, primarily on a rotational basis.
The developments are not necessarily contradictory. A broader reduction in U.S. forces elsewhere in Europe could be accompanied by a concentration of troops and infrastructure in strategically important areas, particularly NATO’s eastern flank. Poland has invested heavily in supporting the American military presence. Establishing a permanent Army base would therefore represent not simply an expansion of the U.S. military presence in Europe, but a potential redistribution of that presence toward Poland, reflecting Warsaw’s growing role in NATO’s defense posture near Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. (AFP+EIR)
