Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak said Warsaw had agreed with Washington on locations for an additional contingent of US troops. Earlier it became known that US troops can be deployed at six points. According to Blaschak, this number may increase.

“We discussed the next, seventh place of deployment of US troops. Six have already been agreed, ”Blaschak said during a meeting on Friday with US National Security Advisor John Bolton.

As the head of the Polish military department noted, in the near future at least 1 thousand military personnel will be added to the 5 thousand American soldiers stationed in this East European country on a rotational basis. This was agreed by Presidents Andrzej Duda and Donald Trump during the visit of the Polish leader to the United States in June.

  • Polish Minister of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak and Advisor to the US President on National Security John Bolton
  • Twitter
  • © @AmbJohnBolton

Mateusz Piskorski, director of the European Center for Geopolitical Analysis, a Polish political scientist, expressed an opinion in an interview with RT that the deployment of an additional contingent of American troops is "unprofitable from the point of view of Polish national interests."

“But we are dealing with a government that is subordinate to certain neoconservative groups, hawks from Washington, who believe that the deployment of US military bases on NATO’s eastern flank is in the national interest of the United States. And of course, this step is directed against Russia, ”Piskorsky said. - This step is consistent with certain anti-Russian phobias, which are close to the ruling party of Poland “Law and Justice”.

In turn, the editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko said in a conversation with RT that plans to deploy an additional contingent of US troops in Poland increase tension in the region.

“This does not lead to stability on the borders between Russia and NATO, it creates the prerequisites for future conflicts,” Korotchenko emphasized.

Quarter Billion Contract

The day before Bolton’s visit to Warsaw, information on a tender for construction work in Poland appeared in the Pentagon’s section on military contracts. The customer is the Engineering Corps of the US Army in Europe with headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany.

According to Pentagon official information, construction companies from Poland, Germany, the USA and Turkey will take part in the tender. In total, almost $ 250 million will be spent on the project, which “provides for the provision of services for the repair, maintenance and construction of real estate on the territory of the Republic of Poland”. The estimated date for completion of the project is August 29, 2024.

Earlier in 2019, there were already reports of plans to build new US military facilities in Poland.

In February 2019, a tender by the engineering forces for the construction of a “complex for long-term storage and maintenance of equipment” at the Powids air base in Poland was posted on the US government procurement website. The cost of construction work was estimated in the range from $ 100 million to $ 250 million. In April, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance countries agreed to allocate $ 260 million for the construction of a warehouse of American military equipment in Poland.

On August 29, the US Armed Forces newspaper Stars and Stripes reported that troops stationed at Powids Air Force Base were living in temporary facilities and needed better housing conditions.

  • American soldiers in Poland
  • © US Army

According to experts, a quarter of a billion dollars is not a very significant amount. Mateusz Piskorski believes that the main burden of financing the construction of American bases and the further deployment of Americans in Poland will be borne by Warsaw. The current US administration is striving to make the Allies pay more for defense services.

“Most of all these costs associated with the development of infrastructure and other costs, in any case, the Polish side will have to allocate from the Polish budget. We do not yet know what amounts are involved. But it is worth assuming that these are large sums, much more than $ 250 million, ”Piskorsky says.

The Anaconda Strategy

Since last year, the Polish authorities have repeatedly stated their desire to deploy a permanent US military base in the country and were even ready to allocate $ 2 billion for this project. Now American troops are deployed in Poland on a rotational basis - units with a permanent location in other regions of the planet are being relocated to the country by several months. At the end of the trip, they are replaced by other units.

  • US Army soldier in Poland
  • © US Army

US President Donald Trump has also repeatedly expressed interest in this project, but so far the matter has not progressed further than general statements. Despite this, on August 22, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Moravecki again returned to the idea of ​​a military base, saying that it was necessary to strengthen the foreign military presence in Poland and that the state needed a new NATO base. In addition, in an interview with German media, the Polish prime minister noted that the deployment of American medium-range missiles in Europe should be discussed.

According to Igor Korotchenko, the deployment of a permanent US military base in Poland would violate the 1997 Russia-NATO Founding Act, which from a legal point of view formalizes Moscow’s relations with the alliance.

“At the time this document was signed, it was understood that there would be no American troops in Poland in the format of“ substantial military forces ”. A full-fledged US military base will already be a violation of the Russia-NATO Founding Act, ”the political scientist believes.

In addition to the deployment of American troops, Poland intends to increase the combat potential of its own armed forces, including using American weapons.

Poland and the United States have already concluded contracts for the supply of American Patriot air defense systems and HIMARS missile systems. Negotiations are underway on the supply of fifth-generation F-35 aircraft.

According to Mateusz Piskorski, it’s not only in Poland. The Baltic countries are constantly asking for an increase in military presence in the United States and NATO. Recently, Romanian President Klaus Johannis came up with a similar initiative after meeting with Donald Trump.

“All this is based on the Anaconda strategy - Russia should be surrounded by a ring of American bases. And countries are ready to deploy not only conventional military bases, but also bases with nuclear weapons, ”the political scientist believes.

"Tomahawk" in the bosom

At least one permanent facility of the US Armed Forces should appear in Poland next year. We are talking about a base near the village of Redzikovo, where the ground-based Aegis Ashore missile defense system will be located. Now the construction of the facility is in full swing.

The base near Redzikov is similar to that already operating in Romania. Russia has repeatedly stated that this object does not perform a defensive function at all. The fact is that the Mk 41 launchers used in the Aegis Ashore system can be used to launch not only anti-ballistic missiles, but also Tomahawk medium-range cruise missiles.

The Americans themselves also demonstrated this possibility by using the Mk 41 to launch a ground-based medium-range cruise missile two weeks after the expiration of the INF Treaty.

“Soon, in Poland, the US missile defense position area will be brought into combat mode, where both standard missiles and nuclear warheads can be deployed in standard Mk 41 launchers, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles,” Korotchenko notes. “If you count the flight time to the Russian borders, it becomes clear that this is an extremely dangerous and destabilizing situation.”

  • US military launches cruise missile during tests on August 18
  • © US Dept of Defense

According to the expert, the Polish leadership risks the safety of its citizens because of its geopolitical ambitions.

“Poland must understand that by deploying US military components, it becomes an object for a retaliatory strike from Russia,” said the political scientist. - As soon as components of the American missile defense system are deployed there, American bases in Poland will become targets for Russian missiles. If, in Poland, American medium-range missiles are deployed, then you should wait for the "symmetrical response" that President Vladimir Putin had promised earlier. "

In turn, Mateusz Piskorski expressed confidence that the Russian response would be “asymmetric” and relevant principles of international law.

“I am more than confident that from the point of view of Russia and the security of Russian citizens, new military bases do not pose any threat. Because Russia is already ready for this, ”the Polish political scientist believes.