Although politicians from Donald Tusk’s camp declare that the presence of American soldiers increases Poland’s security, they are increasingly arguing that deploying them in the country would mean enormous costs for the state budget. The same politicians insist that the loan Poland is currently taking out under the SAFE program is a success. The debate intensified after signals from the United States about a possible transfer of some troops from Germany to Poland – a scenario not ruled out by Donald Trump and actively pursued by President Karol Nawrocki.
The Pentagon recently announced a decision to withdraw around 5,000 American troops from Germany. The operation is to be carried out within the next 6-12 months. Asked about the reasons for this decision, Donald Trump did not answer directly, but added that the number of U.S. troops in Germany would remain higher than the mentioned figure. Recently, when asked about Poland’s proposal that the withdrawn troops be relocated to Poland, the American leader replied, “Poland would like that,”.
“We have great relations with Poland, I have great relations with President (Karol) Nawrocki, you remember, I supported him and he won even though he was far behind. He is a great fighter and a great guy, I like him very much, so it is possible,” he added.
Asked whether he intends to do so, Trump replied that he “might” do it.
It is worth recalling that recently President Karol Nawrocki signaled to the American leader his willingness to host U.S. troops in Polish bases. The leaders discussed the matter on the occasion of the release of Andrzej Poczobut. Associates of President Nawrocki avoided clear declarations regarding any agreements. In this context, it is also important to recall the recent statement by the Polish Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, who expressed concern about a scenario of “taking soldiers away from Germany.”
“We probably should not, as a state, be taking them. (…) I will not allow Poland to be used in any way to undermine solidarity or cooperation at the European level,” he told journalists.
They want it, but… not really
The statements by Tusk and Trump, presenting two different narratives, are widely commented on in the media space. Some politicians of the December 13 coalition, as well as circles supporting them, while emphasizing the importance of security guaranteed by American forces, are trying to frame the issue from a slightly different – financial – angle. They suggest that maintaining U.S. troops in Poland would involve enormous costs.
Yesterday on Polsat News, former president Bronisław Komorowski, who supports Tusk’s government, stated: “Poland pays for every American soldier.”
“So from a business point of view, it is of course a good deal for the United States. For us, in my opinion, the profit is small and the trouble is large,” he added.
In his view, implementing such a scenario would amount to “underwriting President Donald Trump’s policy against Europe.”
A similar argument was presented today on the same channel by Krzysztof Śmiszek, an MEP from the New Left (Nowa Lewica).
“It is in our interest that these soldiers are here. We already have thousands of American troops, but on a rotational basis. We have a base. There is infrastructure. In the end, there is one more thing – because we all say: as many American soldiers as possible – I agree with MP Bocheński – there is a threat and we need deterrence capabilities. But maintaining American or foreign armed forces on our territory also costs us. It is not the case that Americans go to some country and spend their billions of dollars. No, we will be spending billions of zlotys,” he said.
He continued: “We have to spend, and we are already spending, hundreds of billions of zlotys on defense. I would like our viewers to know that the presence of and calls for American soldiers have their advantages, because there will be security, but also their disadvantages – because we will be spending billions.”