Pompeo signs prompt German troops to redistribute troops to Poland

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has signed a new defense agreement with Poland that will allow US troops to return to Germany.

The deal will see the number of American troops in Poland increase to about 5,500.

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said the number could soon be increased to 20,000 if a threat justified it.

US President Donald Trump has previously accused Germany of not contributing enough to NATO.

But the US movement has raised concerns among NATO allies about possible Russian expansionism.

The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was signed on Saturday by Mr Pompeo and Mr Blaszczak in Warsaw.

“This will be a comprehensive guarantee – a guarantee that in the event of a threat our soldiers will stand arm in arm,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the signing ceremony.

“It will also serve to increase the security of other countries in our part of Europe.”

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About 4,500 U.S. troops are currently stationed in Poland and another 1,000 will be added under the new pact. The US Army V Corps headquarters will also be relocated from Germany to Poland.

Last month, the US confirmed that nearly 12,000 troops – out of more than 38,000 – from Germany would be drawn into what it described as a “strategic” repositioning of its forces in Europe.

About 6,400 troops are sent home with the rest relocated to other NATO countries, including Poland, Italy and Belgium.

President Trump said the move was a response to Germany’s failure to meet NATO defense spending targets.

‘Muscular’ Poland is Trump’s kind of ally

Paid by their lawyers as a means of better defending NATO and reinforcing reinforcements against Moscow, this new military agreement could be as much about politics as it is about strategy.

The US is already contributing and commanding a small multi-national NATO battle group in Poland, with regular exercises drawing extra forces. A land-based ballistic missile defense system is under construction.

But since 2018, Polish politicians in particular have been under much more pressure, arguing at one stage that an entire American division should be permanently based in the country, with Warsaw costing at least some expense; a plan referred to by some as “Fort Trump.”

The new agreement falls short here. But it sends a clear signal about Mr Trump’s preference. Muscular Poland, with relatively strong defense spending, is the kind of ally the president likes. In contrast, he has already announced the pull-out of some U.S. troops from Germany, which he finds does not bear his share of the defense tax.

It is not clear that the shifting of forces will necessarily strengthen NATO at a time when many of its key issues seem to relate to internal cohesion.

“We do not want to be the sugars anymore,” Mr Trump told reporters shortly after the move was announced. “We reduce the power because they do not pay their bills; it is very simple.”

Mr. Trump has long complained that European NATO members should spend more on their own defense and not rely so heavily on the US to shoulder the cost of maintaining the alliance.

The alliance’s series focuses on the goal agreed by all NATO members that defense spending should reach 2% of GDP (gross domestic product, total value of goods produced and services provided in a country) by 2024.

Germany, along with other countries, has not yet met this goal.

German officials have criticized the US movement, suggesting it could weaken NATO and embolden Russia.