Polish officials vent worries over scrapped US troop deployment

WARSAW, Poland — Polish government leaders are concerned over the Pentagon’s abrupt cancellation of a deployment of more than 4,000 soldiers to NATO’s eastern flank, citing Warsaw’s status as a multibillion-dollar U.S. weapons client in their appeal to retain American soldiers.

On May 18, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the country’s deputy prime minister and national defense minister, attended a ceremony in eastern Poland related to the launch of a new engine servicing hub for the Polish fleet of Abrams tanks . The event, designed to highlight existing trans-Atlantic defense ties, was overshadowed by Washington’s recent order to halt a planned nine-month U.S. Army rotation to Eastern Europe.

“The United States military that is stationed in Poland, stationed in Europe, gives security guarantees,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the event. “On the other hand, we have not only a [U.S.] military presence, but also great, strategic purchases in the United States. And it is difficult to find in the world, not only in Europe, a second country that has invested so heavily in purchases of the best American gear for its own needs.”

Kosiniak-Kamysz referred to Poland’s numerous U.S. weapon purchases from the past years which, in addition to tanks, comprise procurements of fighter jets , helicopters , missiles and rocket launchers .

“More than fifty billion dollars is the sum of the purchases that we are implementing in the United States,” the minister said. “This is all a great investment in the Polish-American alliance”.

Polish officials say that, if the U.S. military presence is to be decreased in Europe, they expect the cuts not to concern the troops who are already deployed to Poland.

“We understand that there is a reorganization of the American military presence in Europe. But this reorganization cannot be made at the cost of the biggest ally of the United States in Europe,” Kosiniak-Kamysz said. “We invest around 15,000 dollars every year for the deployment of each [U.S. soldier], which distinguishes us from other European countries.”

Around 10,000 U.S. soldiers are currently stationed in Poland, the majority of which have been deployed to the country as part of a rotational presence.

Jaroslaw Adamowski is the Poland correspondent for Defense News.

波兰华沙——波兰政府领导人对五角大楼突然取消向北约东翼部署 4000 多名士兵表示担忧，并援引华沙作为美国数十亿美元武器客户的地位，呼吁保留美国士兵。

5月18日，波兰总理唐纳德·图斯克和副总理兼国防部长瓦迪斯瓦夫·科西尼亚克-卡梅什出席了在波兰东部举行的一场仪式，该仪式与波兰艾布拉姆斯坦克车队新发动机维修中心的启用有关。此次活动旨在凸显现有的跨大西洋防务关系，但却因华盛顿近期下令暂停原定为期九个月的美国陆军东欧轮换部署计划而黯然失色。

科西尼亚克-卡米什在活动上表示：“驻扎在波兰乃至欧洲的美国军队提供了安全保障。另一方面，我们不仅有（美国）军事存在，还在美国进行了大量战略采购。在世界范围内，尤其是在欧洲，很难找到第二个像波兰这样，为了满足自身需求而如此大手笔地采购美国顶级装备的国家。”

科西尼亚克-卡米什提到了波兰近年来从美国购买的大量武器，除了坦克外，还包括战斗机、直升机、导弹和火箭发射器。

部长表示：“我们在美国实施的采购总额超过500亿美元。这完全是对波兰-美国联盟的一项巨大投资。”

波兰官员表示，如果美国要减少在欧洲的军事存在，他们预计削减不会影响到已经部署到波兰的美军。

科西尼亚克-卡米什表示：“我们理解美国正在调整其在欧洲的军事部署。但这种调整不能以牺牲美国在欧洲最大的盟友为代价。我们每年为每位美军士兵的部署投入约1.5万美元，这使我们与其他欧洲国家区别开来。”

目前约有 10,000 名美军士兵驻扎在波兰，其中大部分是作为轮换驻军的一部分部署到该国的。

Jaroslaw Adamowski 是《防务新闻》驻波兰记者。