U.S. tanks put on a show for American and Polish officials as part of a training exercise designed to deter any potential Russian aggression in the region.
“We believe an attack from the east is unlikely, but it’s having troops on the ground here that makes it even more unlikely,” U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges told reporters, according to Stars and Stripes.
Hodges, the top Army general in Europe, has overseen the deployment of 3,500 U.S. troops to Poland in the lead up to the first joint exercises between NATO and the Polish military. The deployment angered the Russian government, which dubbed it “a threat” to Russian security.
“We perceive it as a threat,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Jan. 12. “These actions threaten our interests, our security. Especially as it concerns a third party building up its military presence near our borders. It’s [the US], not even a European state.”
U.S. Ambassador Paul Jones framed the deployment as a demonstration of the United States “iron-clad commitment” to the NATO alliance when the troops arrived in mid-January, in an apparent attempt to reassure allies who were alarmed by President Trump’s criticism of NATO during the campaign.
The training exercise provided an occasion for implicit outreach to Trump by Polish officials. “Today I know that Poland will not be threatened,” Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said. “God bless American President Trump.” Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has engaged in similar public diplomacy, echoing Trump’s campaign slogan while calling for the new administration to continue to lead NATO. “America should be great again,”
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has engaged in similar public diplomacy, echoing Trump’s campaign slogan while calling for the new administration to continue to lead NATO. “America should be great again,” Poroshenko said at the World Economic Forum.
Trump has been conducting his own diplomatic outreach to Europe. He spoke to Putin by phone on Saturday, but also told leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom that he remains committed to the NATO alliance. “Mr. President I think you confirmed that you are 100 percent behind NATO,” U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May said last week following a meeting with the president.
