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US President Donald Trump surprised NATO allies by pledging to send 5,000 more troops to Poland, hours before the alliance’s foreign ministers meet in Sweden on Friday amid deep divisions over the Iran war.
Trump, in the book Truth Social, cited his relationship with Poland’s nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, as a reason for his decision.
It was a surprising turn of events after weeks when Trump sharply criticized NATO members for not doing more to help the US-Israeli military campaign. He said he was considering withdrawing from the alliance and questioned whether Washington was obligated to honor its defense pact.
“It’s really confusing, and it’s not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters.
European fears about Trump’s commitment to NATO have grown with the decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe, which came before Thursday’s pledge to send more troops to Poland.
It was not immediately clear where the additional Polish troops would come from.
Washington’s allies are also confused and unsatisfied with the way the decision was passed. US officials initially said troops would be withdrawn from Germany but later said they would delay sending a contingent to Poland.
The US also said the planned deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany would not go ahead.
In addition, it plans to tell NATO allies that it will reduce the number of military capabilities the US makes available to the alliance in the crisis, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Meanwhile, Germany said it would spend more than four percent of the country’s gross domestic product on defense this year ahead of the meeting.
Before going to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Swedish city of Helsingborg, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Trump was “very disappointed” with the members of the alliance that did not allow the US to use bases in its territory in the war, choosing Spain in particular.
CBC’s Rosemary Barton talks to National Defense Minister David McGuinty about Canada recently reaching the NATO target of two percent of GDP spent on defence, what this says about the current state of global security, and how challenging it will be to maintain this level of spending.
“You have countries like Spain denying the US the use of these bases – well, why are you in NATO? That’s a very fair question,” Rubio told reporters in Miami. “Honestly, other NATO countries have been very helpful. But we have to discuss that.”
NATO officials have insisted that it is a defensive alliance, and that the US has not asked the 32-member alliance to take part in the war on Iran. Some members of the alliance eventually honored commitments to allow US forces to use their airspace and bases on their territory.
European concerns about Trump’s attitude toward NATO have been heightened this year by Trump’s push for Greenland, the territory of NATO member Denmark. Periodic tariff threats directed by Trump at members of each organization have also been a source of frustration.
At the meeting in Helsingborg, European ministers are expected to try to appease the US by insisting that they are ready to help with freedom of movement in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions allow and take more responsibility for European security. Iran has restricted traffic during the war.
As for Canada, which has more reason to make a pledge by a NATO member last year to increase defense spending, the Pentagon says it wants to see a clear plan on how Ottawa plans to meet the commitment to spend 3.5 percent of GDP on the military, and an additional 1.5 percent on defense infrastructure.
