US Military Buildup In Poland Not Linked Directly To Ukrainian Crisis - Expert

The United States' plan to establish a permanent presence in Poland is not linked directly to the conflict in Ukraine, military expert Pierre Henrot told Sputnik on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2022) The United States' plan to establish a permanent presence in Poland is not linked directly to the conflict in Ukraine, military expert Pierre Henrot told Sputnik on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden announced at the NATO summit in Madrid in June that his country would create a new permanent army headquarters in Poland in response to alleged security threats from Russia. Poland offered to his predecessor, Donald Trump, to host a permanent US base called Fort Trump in 2018, but that plan never materialized.

"The US expands militarily in Poland and builds a new large base there, close to the Russian border, but it had been decided long before the Ukrainian crisis erupted. We should not see it as directly linked to it," Henrot said.

The permanent headquarters for the US Army's V Corps will be set up at the army's forward command post in Poznan. It was established in fall 2020 to coordinate activities of US land forces in Europe and is manned by 200 US personnel operating on a rotational basis. Poland is also expanding a base in Powidz, home to the US Combat Aviation Brigade.

Henrot argued that Germany would remain Washington's main ally in Europe, with Poland an eager second. In a move that, the expert said, sent the "wrong signal" to the already ailing EU program to build its own fighter jet, Germany has agreed to buy 35 of the newest US F-35 stealth fighters from the US and only 15 Eurofighters to replace its aging fleet of Tornadoes.

"Germany is the unconditional ally of the US within NATO. But Poland is an eager second, vying for US military partnership," Henrot said.

Poland made a deal with the US this year to receive 250 of the newest M1A2 heavy Abrams tanks and 300 second-hand 4x4 Cougar armored vehicles in place of the armaments it sent to the Ukrainians. Henrot called it an excellent operation that allowed Warsaw to help Ukraine while obtaining the most modern US equipment.

"The strengthening of Poland, with American bases and arms from the US is only an 'add-up' to the tight military cooperation between Germany and big brother across the Atlantic," the expert said.

Despite its attempts to continue developing economic ties with China and keeping a backdoor open with Moscow, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition government have toed the line and remain firmly behind the US for defense purposes, the expert said.

"Germany does not forget that it will also have to rely upon the American expensive LNG from next year on, when the reserves of Russian gas accumulated this spring will be used, around the end of February 2023. Not a time to question Washington's leadership," he explained.