The Pentagon began to receive the first responses from European countries to a questionnaire prepared by the US Ministry of Defence. According to Reuters, the allies were asked, among another things, to present the anticipation of expanding investment in Europe's security, assessing the direction of American abroad policy and information on the access of US troops to European bases, airspace and infrastructure. The book was sent in July that year.
The questionnaire was preceded by the decision of U.S. Secretary of defence Pete Hegseth, who had previously recommended an analysis of the scale of the U.S. military presence on the Old Continent. According to media reports, 1 of the possible results of the review is to reduce the number of American forces in Europe.
United States Strong Partner
Ray Wojcik, a retired U.S. Army colonel, believes that Poland can approach the results of the U.S. review with average optimism. In his opinion, the assessment of the positions put forward by European allies will be 1 of the elements that the Pentagon will take into account before deciding on possible changes in the deployment of US troops in Europe. This besides means that the analysis may affect the possible of creating a permanent American military base in Poland.
In Wojcik's opinion, the Polish authorities should clearly and uniformly present the importance of Poland to the safety of the east part of NATO. An crucial argument may be Poland's attitude towards US forces. While any Western European states had a reserve against or objected to American operations, Poland was to signal to the Pentagon that it did not intend to impose restrictions on the activity of American troops in its territory.
According to the American expert, the current review is an chance for Warsaw to present Poland as a reliable and strong partner of the United States in Europe. Wojcik points out that further improvement of cooperation can benefit not only Poland. From the point of view of the United States, military presence and joint actions with the Polish armed forces could besides service as a applicable environment for checking fresh military solutions. This would include future operational doctrine, the usage of drones and another modern combat capabilities.
Poland before another allies
Responses to the Pentagon besides show that another states on the east flank of NATO declare their willingness to further make defence cooperation with the United States and to increase investment in their armed forces. An example is Finland, which, according to information provided by the Finnish station Yle, indicated a advanced level of its own defence expenditure. The country allocates nearly 3.5 percent of its GDP to this purpose, which ranks it among NATO members spending the most on defence.
Wojcik points out, however, that in terms of cooperation with the United States and bearing the costs associated with their presence Poland is in front of another allies. In his opinion, during the decade Warsaw allocated respective billion dollars to the modernization of infrastructure and improvement of logistics facilities, as well as another expenses resulting from the presence of American soldiers in Poland.
