Donald Trump says US to send 5,000 more troops to Poland after Pentagon's delay

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the United States would deploy an additional 5000 troops to Poland days after the Pentagon delayed a previously planned troop deployment to the countryTrump made the announcement in a post on Truth Social linking the decision to Washingtonrsquos relationship with Polish President Karol Nawrocki whom he had publicly endorsed during the election campaignldquoBased on the successful election of the now President of Poland Karol Nawrocki who I was proud to endorse and our relationship with him I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5000 troops to Polandrdquo Trump wroteThe US President did not provide further details regarding the timeline or purpose of the deploymentAnnouncement follows Pentagonrsquos earlier deployment delayTrumprsquos remarks came roughly a week after the Pentagon reportedly delayed the deployment of more than 4000 USbased troops to PolandThe delay followed a broader restructuring of US military presence in EuropeEarlier this week the US Department of Defense announced that the number of US Brigade Combat Teams stationed in Europe would be reduced from four to three bringing troop levels back to figures seen in 2021The Pentagon said the decision resulted in a temporary delay in troop deployments to Poland although it described Poland as ldquoa model US allyrdquoAround 10000 US troops already stationed in PolandAccording to US media reports around 80000 American troops are currently deployed across Europe including approximately 10000 personnel stationed in PolandThe Pentagon had earlier announced plans to withdraw nearly 5000 US troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months as part of a broader military restructuringThe latest announcement by Trump signals a possible shift in the administrationrsquos European military strategy particularly in Eastern Europe amid ongoing security concerns in the regionPentagon officials confirm force reduction discussionsLast week senior US military officials confirmed that the planned deployment of troops to Poland had been halted following instructions related to force reductionsSpeaking during a congressional hearing Christopher LaNeve acting US Army chief of staff said the head of the US European Command had received instructions regarding troop cutsldquoIve worked with him in close consultation on what that force unit would be and it made the most sense for that brigade to not do its deployment in theatrerdquo LaNeve said referring to the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat TeamHe added that some members of the unit had already been deployed overseas and military equipment was already in transit when the deployment was cancelledDefence Secretaryrsquos office reportedly ordered cancellationAccording to LaNeve the order to stop the deployment came from the office of US Defence Secretary Pete HegsethHowever the Pentagon has not made any formal public announcement explaining the reasons behind the earlier cancellation or the newly proposed troop deploymentWith inputs from IANS