NATO allies puzzled by Trump U-turn on Europe troops

HELSINGBORG (AP):

NATO allies and defence officials expressed bewilderment yesterday at US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 US troops to Poland just weeks after ordering the same number of forces to be pulled out of Europe.

The apparent change of mind came after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the US military footprint in Europe. Trump’s initial order set off a flurry of activity among military commanders and left allies, already doubtful about America’s commitment to Europe’s security, pondering what forces they might have to backfill on NATO’s eastern flank alongside Russia and Ukraine.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing troop levels in Europe by about 5,000, and US officials confirmed that approximately 4,000 service members were no longer rotating into Poland from Germany. The deployment to Germany of US personnel trained to fire long-range missiles was also halted.

But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would now send “an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.

“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters yesterday at a meeting she was hosting for her NATO counterparts, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the US troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there is no change of posture. For now.”

US defence officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either,” said one of two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters.

But Rubio said Washington’s allies understand that changes in the US troop presence in Europe will come as the Trump administration re-evaluates its force requirements. “I think there’s a broad recognition that there are going to be eventually less US troops in Europe than there has historically been for a variety of reasons,” he said.

The latest surprise came despite a US pledge to co-ordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, US Lieutenant General Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.

Trump’s initial announcement that he would withdraw troops came as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the US was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticised what he called a lack of strategy in that war.

Trump told reporters that the US would be cutting even more than 5,000 troops and also announced new tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.

Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “is not a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.”

The US has a commitment to keep at least 76,000 troops in Europe.

About 80,000 US troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to maintain at least 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and it is determined that such a withdrawal is in US interests.

The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might reduce numbers below that threshold.

But Trump’s latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe would not change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the decision to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump posted again on Truth Social, Rutte had underlined that it was important for Europe to take care of its own security. “We have a process in place. This is normal business,” he told reporters.

At NATO headquarters in Brussels, meanwhile, US officials briefed allies on the Pentagon’s aims for its commitments to the NATO Force Model, which involves contingency planning for Europe’s defence in the event of serious security threats. It had been widely expected that a further reduction of US forces would follow.