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Pentagon officials were reportedly caught off guard by the recent decision to halt the deployment of more than 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland, Politico reported on Thursday.
“We had no idea this was coming,” one U.S. official told the outlet, adding that American and European officials spent the last 24 hours trying to understand the decision and determine whether further surprises could follow.
The report came after The Wall Street Journal said the deployment of more than 4,000 U.S. troops to Poland as part of a planned rotation had been paused, with some personnel and equipment already en route to Europe.
The suspended deployment reportedly involved elements of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Cavalry Division.
Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, former commander of U.S. Army Europe, warned the decision could undermine NATO’s deterrence posture against Russia.
“The Army’s role in Europe is all about deterring the Russians, protecting America’s strategic interests and assuring allies,” Hodges said. “Now a very important asset that was coming to be part of that deterrence is gone,” he added.
Hodges also highlighted Poland’s close alignment with Washington.
“The Poles never criticized President Donald Trump,” he said. “They do all the things that good allies are supposed to do … And yet, this happens,” he added.
Joel Linnainmaki, a former Finnish official, described the decision as “a major challenge” for European security and “a severely disrupting way of shifting responsibility to Europeans.”
“For allies next to Russia it will have to change their calculus,” he said.
Both Poland and Finland share long borders with Russia, with Finland possessing NATO’s longest border with the country.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon also announced plans to withdraw around 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany.
That move followed tensions between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the German leader’s criticism of the White House’s handling of the U.S. war with Iran.
Trump has repeatedly argued that European countries are not contributing enough to their own defense and has floated reducing the American military footprint across the continent.
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