U.S. Ambassador: we had always hoped that the word “permanent” would be attached to U.S. forces in Poland

Source: TVN24 | TVN24 News June 29, 2022

The significance lies in the fact that these are the first permanent U.S. forces on NATO’s eastern flank, said U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski in an interview with TVN24, referring to U.S. President Joe Biden’s pledge to establish a permanent V Corps headquarters in Poland. “The message is that Poland is safe and Poland is secure,” Brzezinski asserted.

Poland on Wednesday hailed U.S. President Joe Biden’s pledge to establish the 5th Army Headquarters in Poland as the realization of a long-held dream that will send a clear message of deterrence to Russia.

“Let’s talk first about what has been announced, the permanent Headquarters of V Corps Command will be permanently placed in Poznan, the U.S. Army garrison to support that command will be permanently placed in Poznan, and there will be field support for a battalion in Poland to support those entities,” said U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski in an interview with TVN24 journalist Michal Sznajder on Wednesday.

He also mentioned NATO decisions made at the Madrid summit, adding that in the case of Poland, “we always hoped that the word ‘permanently’ would be attached to the U.S. forces in Poland.”

“And this is the historic nature of what is happening today, and I have to say that I thank the government of President Duda and Prime Minister Morawiecki that their alliance with the U.S. military and the Department of Defense has been exemplary,” Minister Blaszczak said. very, very good working with us, and thanks to today’s cooperation we are safer and more secure here in Poland today.” said the U.S. ambassador to Poland.

Permanent headquarters of the U.S. V Corps in Poland  

U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday at a NATO summit in Madrid that the United States will strengthen its forces and equipment across Europe and establish a new permanent army headquarters in Poland in response to potential new threats from Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. “This is news we have been waiting for long,” President Andrzej Duda said at a press conference. “This is a fact that greatly strengthens our security … in the difficult situation we are in.” Since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014, Poland has seen an increase in NATO forces on the eastern flank of the Western alliance as crucial to the security of Central Europe in the face of increased Russian assertiveness. It has long sought a permanent U.S. military base on its soil. “Something that seemed impossible to many is becoming a reality today,” tweeted Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz. “We have a FIXED American presence in Poland, and this is also a clear signal to Moscow.”

Democracies vs. Oligarchs

Biden visited Poland in March and told U.S. troops deployed there that they were “in the middle of a battle between democracies and oligarchs.”

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland’s ruling party, said in April that Warsaw would be open to having U.S. nuclear weapons on its soil and would welcome a 50 percent increase in the number of American troops in Europe. The Kremlin criticized his comments. Before Russia and the West erupted in Ukraine, the U.S. military had some 4,500 troops in Poland, both NATO and bilateral, primarily stationed in the west of the country on a rotating basis. Washington has since temporarily sent additional troops and equipment to Poland, and NATO said in June that the alliance now has 11,600 troops from other countries deployed in Poland, including forces from other NATO members such as the U.K.