The Donald Trump administration is accelerating the reduction of American military presence in Europe, after the Pentagon abruptly canceled the deployment of an armored brigade in Poland.
The decision surprised even some American military officials, writes Wall Street Journal.
This concerns the 2nd Armored Combat Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division of the U.S. Army, a unit with over 4,000 soldiers, which was supposed to arrive in Poland as part of the regular rotation of U.S. forces in Europe.
According to the American publication, some equipment and soldiers were already en route to Europe when the deployment was canceled.
The reductions go further
The decision comes after the Pentagon announced, earlier this month, the withdrawal of 5,000 American soldiers from Germany. The measure was made public after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized the way the White House handled the war with Iran.
Subsequently, Donald Trump stated that the reduction of American troops in Europe will be even more significant. "We will reduce much more than 5,000," Trump told journalists, even threatening with the withdrawal of troops from Italy and Spain.
The Pentagon conveyed that the long-term objective is for European states to take on the main responsibility for the continent's conventional defense, while the U.S. military role will become more limited.
American military officials taken by surprise
According to WSJ, American military commanders had already prepared recommendations for reducing the contingent in Germany and expected a gradual process of reorganizing the American presence in Europe.
However, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accelerated the process, to the surprise of a significant part of the American military leadership.
Sources from the Department of Defense stated that the U.S. Army had recommended that the armored brigade not be replaced after the standard nine-month rotation, but had not requested the mission to be canceled while the deployment was already underway.
The decision was communicated on Wednesday during a meeting between the U.S. European Command and the U.S. Army personnel for Europe and Africa, as reported by the American publication. The Pentagon spokesperson declined to comment on the information.
Poland says the measure "does not concern it"
The cancellation of the deployment is particularly sensitive as the Trump administration has generally had close relations with Poland. Earlier this month, Donald Trump even suggested that some American troops could be moved from Germany to Poland.
However, Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz stated that the decision does not directly concern Poland. "It does not concern Poland. It is about the previously announced change regarding the presence of American armed forces in Europe," the Polish official wrote on social media.
He added that "the rapid development of the capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces and the presence of American troops in Poland strengthen the eastern flank of NATO."
The number of U.S. troops in Europe returns to pre-Russia invasion levels
According to WSJ, the reductions prepared by the Trump administration are expected to bring American military personnel levels in Europe back to the 2022 levels, before Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The decision follows other recent measures by the Pentagon to reduce the American presence on the continent. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it was abandoning the Biden administration's plan to deploy in Germany a battalion equipped with long-range conventional missiles. The deployment had been announced by the U.S. and Germany at the 2024 NATO summit in Washington.
Last year, the Trump administration decided to withdraw a combat brigade of American soldiers from Romania.
G.P.