Poland will get more American forces, which is the gold standard for deterring the Russians:
Even before Andrzej Duda arrived, the U.S. ambassador to Poland, Georgette Mosbacher, told TVN24 in Poland that the U.S. will send another 1,000 troops to Poland — over and above the 1,000 declared last year.
That's good. Will American forces be cut back in Germany?
The Defense Department is reviewing options to begin pulling the troops out of Germany, but even though some may be shifted to neighboring Poland, the withdrawal will still present complex logistical challenges and will not happen fast. U.S. officials said no final decisions have been made on where the troops currently stationed in Germany will go.
It seems like the decision is made. Although it might just be a decision to look at the issue.
But I still don't know where the troops are going.
“Several thousand troops currently assigned to Germany may be reassigned to other countries in Europe,” Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, said in an op-ed published Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal. “Thousands may expect to redeploy to the Indo-Pacific, where the U.S. maintains a military presence in Guam, Hawaii, Alaska and Japan, as well as deployments in locations like Australia.”
I'd guess that the Stryker combat brigade will go elsewhere in Europe. Seemingly not to Poland. Perhaps to Romania? Would Slovakia host it?
And I would like to see if 25,000 are enough to maintain the infrastructure we have in Germany allowing us to project power to eastern NATO or the arc of crisis from West Africa to Afghanistan.
That's the key judgment to be made and not the absolute number of American troops in Germany. Given the massive drawdown in American troops in Germany since 1990, I'd like to know why this proposal is the straw that breaks the camel's back.
I'll say again I want a robust American presence in Europe to defend NATO. I'm not wed to that being in Germany, which has been a less than enthusiastic ally despite our long defense of West Germany and our vital support for reunification.
UPDATE: Okay, the withdrawal of troops from Germany is real:
The Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff briefed the President yesterday on plans to redeploy 9,500 troops from Germany. The proposal that was approved not only meets the President’s directive, it will also enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, reassure Allies, [and] improve U.S. strategic flexibility and U.S. European Command’s operational flexibility[.]
We'll see what the details are and if they match the pledge of what the moves will do.
UPDATE: The Senate wants a say in this:
The block on spending would remain in place until it was possible to verify that the withdrawal would not harm NATO, US military operations or military families. It also requires assurance that the additional cost for redeployment should not be significant.
I'm fine with this--except for the not harming military families. Our forward military deployments don't revolve around the families.
And it is a joy to see the Senate actually defending America's troop presence in Germany rather than flirting with slashing it.
