US troops in Poland deployment cancelled at the last moment
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has cancelled the deployment of 4,000 American troops to Poland at the last moment, following the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany.
Some personnel from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division, along with military equipment, were already on their way. The decision caught both the Pentagon and European allies off guard.
“We had absolutely no idea this was going to happen,” one US official said.
The decision was especially unexpected because Donald Trump has repeatedly called Poland a “model ally” because of its high defence spending nearly 5% of GDP, the highest level in NATO. Even so, Warsaw has now been turned away.
Germany withdrawal followed Trump-Merz dispute
Earlier this month, the Pentagon confirmed the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from military bases in Germany, carrying out a threat made by Trump after his clash with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.
Trump has since warned that the Pentagon would “cut much more than 5,000”.
It now appears he has begun to act on that promise.
Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, former commander of US Army Europe, was blunt in his assessment.
“The role of the army in Europe is to deter the Russians, protect American interests and support allies. And now a very important element of that deterrence has disappeared,” he said.
The Poles did everything expected of good allies. Yet this is still happening, Hodges added.
At the Pentagon, officials insist the decision was not spontaneous. Acting spokesperson Joel Valdez said it followed a “comprehensive, multi-layered process”.
European allies warn of destabilisation
In Finland, however, officials have already warned that by shifting responsibility for security onto the European Union, the United States is destabilising the situation in Europe.
Former Finnish official Joel Linnainmäki called the move “a serious challenge to European security” and “an extremely destabilising way of shifting responsibility onto Europeans”.
Polish officials, meanwhile, are trying to present the situation as less serious. Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz wrote: “This issue does not concern Poland.”
But Krzysztof Bosak, leader of the opposition Confederation party, described the situation as “internal chaos and a loss of trust in our most important ally”.
A warning signal for Chișinău
For Chișinău, this is an alarming signal. If the United States can change its mind at the last moment even over a “model” ally such as Poland, what can be said about a country that is not even a NATO member?
Under such circumstances, security guarantees given to Moldova may turn out to be little more than words. Chișinău may suddenly find itself having to answer for its aggressive policy towards partners on its own.
Moldovan officials like to repeat that European integration means security. But looking at how Washington is redrawing its plans on the fly and leaving allies confused, the question becomes obvious: who will defend Moldova tomorrow if Washington or Brussels decides it is no longer worth the cost?
The erratic decisions of the Trump administration are frightening and disorienting European allies. As one US official noted, American and European representatives spent the past 24 hours on the phone trying to understand the motives behind the move and whether more “surprises” will follow.
In such conditions, there is little room for small countries and their problems. Europe may first have to work out how to survive without the American umbrella.
