![]() ![]() ![]() Army V Corps would be established in Poland. That’s why I was pleased when it was announced that a permanent headquarters of the U.S. When certain countries step up to meet the threat, as Poland has, the United States should take note and reorient its partnerships within the alliance toward those whose behaviors are most aligned with its strategic goals. Talks are also underway between Poland and the United Kingdom to construct a large arms factory in Poland-an important step to make European defenses more self-sufficient. military is able to maintain its own readiness requirements and we can continue our support for Ukraine, Taiwan, and other allies and partners. This move will enhance predictability, drive down costs, and help ensure that the U.S. Congress has given the Defense Department the authority to conduct multiyear procurement of key munitions, which will allow for purchases of items over multiple years, not annually. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the U.S. military and the entire alliance more prepared for any future fight. ![]() Money being spent on Ukraine by Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, and Romania is actually helping to fix our systems by expanding production, hiring new workers, and standardizing NATO armaments away from Soviet legacy systems-making the U.S. It should also be noted that the United States benefits from its allies’ investments in defense. There is also a push right now, which I fully support, to upgrade our Aegis Ashore sites in Poland and Romania to allow for the tracking of Russian cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles threatening NATO. This co-production will help alleviate current supply chain issues and worker shortfalls and will help more rapidly replenish European stocks of munitions. U.S.-Polish industrial co-production on anti-tank missiles and other systems such as HIMARS should also be incentivized and accelerated where possible. Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has doubled down on this strategy, explaining: “The criminal assault carried out by the Russian Federation, targeting Ukraine, and the unpredictable nature of Putin means that we need to accelerate the equipment modernization even further.”įrom my position on the House Armed Services Committee, I have worked to expedite our steadfast ally’s efforts to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank, including by pressing the Biden administration to accelerate the transfer of M1A2 Abrams tanks, which Poland asked for to help deter and, if necessary, repel a Russian invasion force. Going beyond these commitments, in March 2022 the Polish government passed legislation that mandates the country spend 3 percent of its GDP on defense beginning this year, followed recently with plans to commit more than 4 percent of its GDP on defense-far surpassing the relative contributions of all other NATO states, including countries such as Canada and Germany. While numbers aren’t everything, Poland and the Baltic nations are among only a handful of NATO states that have consistently met the commitment made in 2006 by all alliance members to spend a minimum of 2 percent of their GDP on defense and invest 20 percent of their defense budgets in major equipment to ensure NATO’s military readiness. Despite Poland’s relative size, there are plans to more than double the size of the Polish army, bringing it to 300,000 troops, which will make it, by far, the largest in Europe. Eastern European nations-namely, Poland, Romania, Finland, and the Baltic states-understand more acutely than their Western neighbors the threat posed by Russia and the imperative for collective resolve in its face.įor example, perhaps no European country has committed and sacrificed more to meet the challenge imposed by Russia than Poland-a nation of only 37 million, nearly half the population of its ally Germany. The backbone of NATO, once centered in Paris and Berlin, is shifting eastward and now stretches from Helsinki to the Black Sea. The strongest, most successful alliances, however, are those that can adapt to change, and after 14 months of supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia’s brutal invasion, it’s clear that a major realignment is underway. The NATO alliance is more relevant than ever before, but the threats facing the coalition are quite different than at the time of its founding. ![]()
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