The Pentagon has canceled plans to deploy 4,000 U.S.-based troops toĀ Poland, two U.S. officials said, a surprise decision slammed by lawmakers that renewed questions about President Donald TrumpāsĀ expected troop cuts in Europe.
General Christopher LaNeve, the Armyās acting chief of staff, confirmed the decision during testimony on Friday before the House Armed Services Committee. But he did little to explain it, besides saying āit made the most sense for that brigade to not do its deployment in theater.ā
Joe Courtney, a Democratic lawmaker, told LaNeve the decision sent a āhorrible messageā about Trumpās commitment to Europe.
āFrankly, itās not just our adversaries that are paying attention. Itās our allies,ā Courtney said.
The top Republican on the committee, Mike Rogers, and the top Democrat, Adam Smith, both criticized the move and expressed exasperation that Congress was neither notified nor consulted, as required.
āWe donāt know whatās going on here, but I can just tell you, weāre not happy with whatās being talked about, particularly since thereās been no statutory consultation with us,ā Rogers said, warning Congress would inflict āpainā on the Pentagon if it attempted to drop below minimum troop levels in Europe.
Smith noted that the Army had already sent an advance team of soldiers toĀ PolandĀ to prepare for the deployment and that equipment was already being shipped when Defense Secretary Pete Hegsethās orders came down.
āIt is a pretty dramatic decision to, at the last minute, pull a team that youāre trying to send over there. If thereās some strategy behind it, then you guys ought to know and you ought to be able to communicate it to us,ā Smith said.
Two weeks ago the Pentagon announced it was withdrawing 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany, in part due to a widening rift overĀ the Iran warĀ between Trump and Europe. It was unclear whether theĀ PolandĀ decision was aimed at accomplishing that drawdown, as U.S. troops reorganize in Europe, as one U.S. official told Reuters.
The U.S. official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the troops that were meant to rotate intoĀ PolandĀ might instead come from elsewhere.
Still, LaNeve declined to speculate about rotations of troops intoĀ PolandĀ from elsewhere in Europe, saying that would be up to the commander of U.S. troops in Europe.
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Don Bacon, a Republican lawmaker from Nebraska, said he spoke with officials inĀ PolandĀ and said they were blindsided by a decision he called āreprehensibleā and āan embarrassment to our country.ā
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he had received assurances thatĀ Polandās security would not be impacted by any decisions on the U.S. troop presence.
āI received assurances, and this is also important to me, that these decisions are of a logistical nature and will not directly affect deterrence capabilities and our security,ā he told a news conference on Friday.
The U.S. has been reviewing its troop presence in Europe and has long been expected to scale it back following demands from Trump that NATO take a larger role in the defense of Europe. The Pentagon has not yet detailed how it envisions future troop laydowns across the continent.
Even as lawmakers expressed exasperation and confusion over theĀ PolandĀ decision, the Pentagon said it followed āa comprehensive, multilayered process.ā
āThis was not an unexpected, last-minute decision, and it would be false to report it as such,ā Pentagon spokesperson Joel Valdez said.
Trump has also been angered that European allies did not join the U.S. war against Iran, andĀ sparred withĀ German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who last month said the Iranians were humiliating the U.S. in negotiations.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told reporters theĀ PolandĀ decision appeared to be a surprise.
āAs far as I know, we werenāt notified about it,ā she told reporters.
When the Germany withdrawal was announced, a senior U.S. official said it would bring U.S. troop levels in Europe āback to roughly pre-2022 levels, before Russiaās invasion of Ukraine triggered a buildup by then President Joe Biden.
The latest decisions to withdraw troops also came amid increasing pressure from Washington on European countries to raise defense spending, and accusations that reliance on U.S. forces had ā allowed them to neglect their own militaries.
Reuters exclusively reported last month anĀ internal Pentagon emailĀ that outlined options to punish NATO allies that Washington believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending āSpain from NATO and reviewing the U.S. position on Britainās claim to the Falkland Islands.
Alarmed by Trumpās past criticism of NATO, lawmakers from both parties last year backed a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, barring troop levels in Europe āfrom falling below 76,000. Trump signed the measure into law in December.
However, the administration has some leeway. The NDAA provision allows the president to cut troop levels below 76,000 if āhe certifies that he has consulted with NATO allies and provides independent assessments of how it would affect U.S. security, the alliance and deterrence of Russian aggression.
Still, Rogers warned his committee would act if it attempted to drop below the 76,000.
A senior NATO military official, commenting on the role of allied deployments, said rotational forces were not central to the allianceās planning.
āRotational forces do not factor into NATOās deterrence and defense plans,ā the official said. āNATO will continue to maintain a strong presence on its Eastern Flank, in particular the Canadian and German troops there. The Alliance remains in close consultation with relevant authorities regarding the matter.ā
Late last year, there were about 85,000 U.S. troops āin Europe.
