Trump Pulls Troops from Europe as Pentagon Delays Deployment to Poland
United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) on Tuesday night announced the postponement of deploying additional troops to Poland. The move comes as President Donald Trump’s America First agenda accelerates, with thousands of military personnel being drawn down from Europe. The delay is part of a plan to reduce US combat power in Europe from four brigade combat teams to three. Each brigade contains up to 4,000 soldiers, tanks, and large-scale supporting equipment.
President Trump has long urged European nations to shoulder a larger responsibility for their own defence. However, internal sources say that in recent weeks Trump has grown furious at the lack of support from core NATO allies for the US-Israel involvement in the conflict with Iran.
Despite the drawdown in personnel, the Pentagon stated that Poland remains a model ally for the US. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth is reported to have contacted Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz to reassure that the US will maintain a strong military presence in the country.
The Department says it will determine the final disposition of forces in Europe based on the US’s strategic and operational needs and the allies’ ability to contribute to independent European defence.
The decision to withdraw troops has sparked deep concerns among NATO allies, particularly as Russia continues its aggression in Ukraine and threatens the alliance’s eastern flank. By contrast, at the start of the 2022 war, the Biden administration sent thousands of troops to Eastern Europe to deter Kremlin territorial ambitions.
This move by Trump is not the first. Last year, he pulled troops from Romania. This month, the Pentagon also planned to withdraw 5,000 military personnel from Germany, a move widely viewed as punitive after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised US involvement in the Iran War.
The troop withdrawal policy has unsettled international allies and prompted debate in the US Congress from both Republicans and Democrats. The Tuesday announcement followed a sudden decision by Defence Secretary Hegseth last week to halt deployment of the brigade-sized force from Texas to Poland.
This abrupt halt surprised US and Polish officials, given that portions of personnel and equipment from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were already in place to begin a nine-month task.
Don Bacon, a Republican, told lawmakers that “This is a slap in the face to Poland and our friends in the Baltic states.”
Currently, the US military is arranging the return of hundreds of personnel who had arrived in Poland to Fort Hood, Texas. (Washington Post/I-2)