In Poland, a Fixed U.S. Presence Will Warrant a Russian Response

MIN READJun 7, 2019 | 09:30 GMT

A general visits a military base in Bydgoszcz, Poland on March 9, 2019, on the occasion of Poland's 20th anniversary of joining NATO.

(JAAP ARRIENS/Getty Images)

Poland has long courted the United States for a permanent military presence to serve as a barricade against Russian influence. Despite Poland's pleas, however, Washington has stuck with a more flexible defense approach in the country. But that may soon change now that U.S. President Donald Trump's at the helm. For more than a year, the United States and Poland have been in talks over such an agreement, which Polish officials have indicated could be finalized by as soon as Sept. 1. However, such a fixed U.S. presence near Russia will undoubtedly spur Moscow to ramp up its own military presence near Poland's borders -- placing Warsaw squarely in the middle of Moscow and Washington's increasingly heated great power competition....