President Trump's earlier previewed controversial troop cuts for the European continent may already be in progress, and could happen more rapidly than previously thought.
The US Army has canceled the deployment of the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division to Poland, NBC reports this week. The deployment would have involved over 4,000 soldiers as well as military equipment.
Various reports say that top Pentagon staff were 'blindsided' by what is being characterized as War Secretary Pete Hegseth's sudden U-turn on the plan to send troops to Poland, amid Trump anger at Europe.
Politico says that troops and equipment had actually started arriving in the country:
The decision was even more surprising because troops and equipment had already started to arrive in the country. It sent fresh waves of anxiety through European capitals and inside the Pentagon on Thursday about whether such moves could embolden Russia — and which ally might turn into the next target.
“We had no idea this was coming,” said one of the U.S. officials, adding that European and American officials have spent the last 24 hours on the phone trying to understand the decision and figure out if more surprises are coming.
Some of this surprise and frustration was echoed in public, with Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of the U.S. Army in Europe, stating that the Army’s role in Europe "is all about deterring the Russians, protecting America’s strategic interests and assuring allies."
But it remains that "now a very important asset that was coming to be part of that deterrence is gone." He added: "The Poles certainly have never criticized President Trump, and they do all the things that good allies are supposed to do. And yet, this happens."
There was no command announcement, with some troops learning of the deployment cancelation by text among their friends and members of their unit.
As for Trump's plan to reduce the US presence in Germany by 5,000, this is expected to take many months - possibly over a period of six months to a year.
The large US presence hearkens back to the post WWII division of Germany and post-war order, and is also a legacy of the Cold War. Ironically at this very moment European leaders have hyped a 'new Cold War' with Russia, as the Ukraine war continues raging.
"The officials characterized the move as a signal of President Trump's discontent with the level of assistance that European allies have offered in the U.S.-Iran war," CBS has noted previously.