By Evaristo Lara
Poland’s government raised its hand to ask President Donald Trump to reassign the 5,000 US troops he intends to withdraw from Germany in the coming months to strengthen border security.
Since the Russian army began invading Ukraine more than four years ago, there has been enormous concern in Poland about hypothetically becoming a possible subsequent target of the Kremlin.
In fact, this year, it raised its defense spending to a level never seen before, since as a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) it allocated 4.8% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to its armed forces.
However, upon learning that Trump became displeased with Friedrich Merz, German Chancellor, and that led him to determine the departure of 5,000 US soldiers from Bavarian territory, Polish President Karol Nawrocki contacted Washington to indicate that he has “the infrastructure prepared” to receive his soldiers..
“If for any reason – already discussed and publicly known – President Donald Trump decides to reduce the US military presence in Germany, in Poland we are prepared to receive US troops; we have the necessary infrastructure for this.
“Regardless of political opinions, everyone is aware that the presence of American troops, whether in Poland or other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, increases security,” he said in a speech.
Currently, about 10,000 US military personnel are assigned to a permanent base of the US Army based in Poland from 2023.
However, in the view of Donald Tusk, Polish Prime Minister, this number of foreign soldiers should no longer increase and that is why he has publicly expressed his rejection of the option of receiving the troops still based in Germany.
It should be noted that the United States has 36,436 military personnel deployed in military bases established in German territory, so withdrawing 5,000 of them does not represent a total payment for the region.
In addition, Trump recently threatened to withdraw more troops from nations such as Italy and Spain, this in response to the lack of solidarity in the war he is waging against Iran.
Keep reading:
• Donald Trump will withdraw more than 5,000 US troops from Germany
• The US could withdraw its troops from Spain and Italy due to their lack of support in the military offensive against Iran
• Germany’s chancellor says Iran is “humiliating” the United States
