President Donald Trump announced Thursday on social media that the United States would be sending an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, an apparent reversal of Pentagon announcements of troop reductions to the central European country.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had paused deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland as a part of broader troop removals from Europe including another 5,000 from Germany.
The president cited the “successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki” as a reason for the additional troops. Nawrocki was elected last June.
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The scheduled withdrawals were slated to return the American troop presence to its level before Russia’s war in Ukraine began in 2022. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby reemphasized in Thursday meetings with his Polish counterparts the Pentagon’s goal to see further European leadership in continental defense.
Republican lawmakers, including House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-AL), had expressed their displeasure with the lack of consultation on the original withdrawal plans. Rogers told reporters Thursday the forthcoming NDAA would place “guardrails” on the Pentagon’s ability to withdraw troops from Europe.
