NATO allies and defence officials expressed bewilderment on Friday at U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he would send 5,000 U.S. troops to Poland just weeks after he ordered the identical variety of forces pulled out of Europe.
The apparent change of mind got here after weeks of statements from Trump and his administration about reducing — not increasing — the American military footprint in Europe. Trump’s initial order set off a flurry of motion amongst military commanders and left allies already doubtful about America’s commitment to Europe’s security to ponder what forces they may should backfill on NATO’s eastern flank with Russia and Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and U.S. officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were now not deploying to Poland. The dispatch to Germany of U.S. personnel trained to fireside long-range missiles was also halted.
But in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he would send “a further 5,000 Troops to Poland,” citing his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last 12 months.
“It’s confusing indeed, and never all the time easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard told reporters at a gathering Friday that she was hosting of her NATO counterparts, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Ministers from the Netherlands and Norway were sanguine about Trump’s latest move, as was Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže, who said allies knew the U.S. troop “posture was being reconsidered, and now there isn’t a change of posture. For now.”
U.S. defence officials also expressed confusion. “We just spent the higher a part of two weeks reacting to the primary announcement. We don’t know what this implies either,” said one among two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to debate sensitive military matters.
But Rubio played down the difficulty. He said that “the US continues to have global commitments that it needs to fulfill when it comes to our force deployment, and that continually requires us to reexamine where we put troops.”
Trump’s vow to withdraw US forces got here after Merz criticized the US
The most recent surprise got here despite a U.S. pledge to coordinate troop deployments, including one from NATO’s top military officer, U.S. Lt. Gen. Alex Grynkewich, on Wednesday.
Trump’s initial announcement that he would withdraw troops got here as he fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the U.S. was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a scarcity of strategy in that war.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.
Trump told reporters that the U.S. can be cutting even greater than 5,000 and in addition announced recent tariffs on European cars. Germany is the continent’s biggest auto producer.
Rubio insisted that Trump’s decision “isn’t a punitive thing. It’s just something that’s ongoing.” He has often been called on to supply a less antagonistic U.S. presence at meetings with European partners, but Rubio did skip the last NATO gathering of foreign ministers in December.
The US has a commitment to maintain no less than 76,000 troops in Europe
About 80,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Europe. The Pentagon is required to maintain no less than 76,000 troops and major equipment on the continent unless NATO allies are consulted and there may be a determination that such a withdrawal is in U.S. interests.
The withdrawal of 5,000 troops might drop numbers below that limit.
But Trump’s latest post suggests that troop numbers in Europe wouldn’t change. Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed the choice to send more forces to his country, saying it ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will probably be maintained roughly at previous levels.”
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte also welcomed the move. On Thursday, before Trump took to Truth Social again, Rutte had underlined that it was essential for Europe to care for its own security. “We have now a process in place. That is normal business,” he told reporters.
Friday’s NATO meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, was aimed toward preparing for a summit of Trump and his counterparts in Turkey in July.
© 2026 The Canadian Press