Post by JustJohn or JJ on Feb 14, 2019 6:45:03 GMT -7
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The U.S. will deploy hundreds more troops to Poland in a push to further boost its military presence in a region where the Pentagon already has thousands of service members conducting op-rations, America’s top diplomat in the country said.
The U.S. will deploy hundreds more troops to Poland in a push to further boost its military presence in a region where the Pentagon already has thousands of service members conducting op-rations, America’s top diplomat in the country said.
U.S. Ambassador to Poland Georgette Mosbacher said the in-crease will be “significant.” “It passes the ... hundreds mark,” Mosbacher told the Financial Times on Wednesday. Mosbacher stopped short of saying whether the move involves setting up a permanent military base in the country, but she suggested future deployments will be rotational .
Warsaw has lobbied for a permanent U.S. base and more ground troops, offering $2 billion to help fund the idea.The Pentagon wants a “more agile, more rotating, rather than where you have physical hospitals and homes and you bring your families,” Mosbacher told the newspaper. “But in terms of a presence that is undeniable and a large number of American troops here, that’s a given. And I think [the Poles are] going to get most of what they want. ”The U.S. already has roughly 4,000 troops in Poland. In ad-dition to an armored brigade on rotation, infantrymen guard Poland’s border with the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad and a U.S. Air Force detachment operates in Lask.
The Navy also has a contingent of sailors in the northern Polish town of Redzikowo, where work continues on a missile defense site that integrates with systems in Romania and at sea. This week, Vice President Mike Pence is in Warsaw for a summit on security in the Middle East. During his visit he was expected to discuss U.S. military relations with Poland and security in Europe.
Meanwhile, acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan was in Brussels on Wednesday for talks with NATO defense ministers. Among the topics being reviewed are efforts to bolster alliance defenses in Europe amid concerns about a more aggressive Russia. Allies also were expected to discuss Washington’s decision to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty banning all ground-launched intermediate range cruise and ballistic missiles. The U.S. and NATO claim Russia is in violation of the treaty for several years because of a new missile system, something Moscow denies .
Meanwhile, acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan was in Brussels on Wednesday for talks with NATO defense ministers. Among the topics being reviewed are efforts to bolster alliance defenses in Europe amid concerns about a more aggressive Russia. Allies also were expected to discuss Washington’s decision to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty banning all ground-launched intermediate range cruise and ballistic missiles. The U.S. and NATO claim Russia is in violation of the treaty for several years because of a new missile system, something Moscow denies .