The fighting in Ukraine may lead to a rethinking of the US’s military posture in Europe that could lead to a buildup of US forces in the region not seen since the end of the Cold War.
According to Stars and Stripes, the US currently has 100,000 troops operating in Europe, the highest number since 2005. Troop numbers spiked recently as President Biden ordered more deployments amid heightened tensions and since Russia invaded Ukraine. In January, there were 80,000 US troops on the continent.
Germany still hosts the most US troops in Europe, but US military leaders are looking to send more forces further east. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is due to meet with other NATO military leaders in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss reinforcing the military alliance’s so-called “eastern flank.”
Ahead of the meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said allies should be prepared for a “major increase” in military spending. “On land, this could include substantially more forces on the eastern part of the alliance,” he said.
Stoltenberg said the alliance will also “consider major increases to our air and naval deployments, strengthening our integrated air and missile defense, reinforcing our cyber defenses, and holding more and larger exercises.” Later this month, President Biden will attend an “extraordinary summit” with NATO leaders in Brussels, which is scheduled for March 24.
In recent months, the US has sent more troops to countries bordering Russia and Ukraine, including Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. According to numbers from US European Command, Poland currently has 10,000 US troops, Romania has 2,400, and 2,500 are spread out across the Baltics.
The US and NATO are reinforcing these countries in the name of deterring Russia. But NATO’s eastward expansion since the end of the Cold War and its presence near Russia’s borders has significantly escalated tensions in the region and is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main justifications for attacking Ukraine.
No more wars! Let there be peace on earth!
Amen to that!
Feels like they’re way out ahead of the European public who all agree with you. Let’s hope??
I agree but that will never happen as long as there is a USA .
I must agree with you.
One more way for us to bankrupt ourselves even faster … perhaps the Ukraine quagmire will actually be ours?
meanwhile, China keeps building trade deals.
This is exactly what Chuna said. US profits from war by wrecking European economy, wrecking Russian economy wrecking Ukrraine and selling a fortune in arms. It was profitable to push Russia intto corner by wealonizing Ukraine. Of course, ss many have commented around the world — President Zelenski willingly made Ukraine a proxy. China is advocating indivisible security for Europe to include Russia. But exude US. as the ffuture of Europe will be always conflict and more war, To run while it can,
Do not see Europe having a future, from what I see.
Neither will US havve a good time as it is clesrly now takung on Russia and China,
Europe’s leading oligarchs, don’t care about the peasantry and never have.
Peasants becoming peasants again, is natural to them.
Western Europe has probably wanted US military spending back on their soil and NATO a stronger pretense of relevance again.
All those US troops in Europe are probably earmarked for African deployments from Europe, whether or not the Russo-Ukraine war ends anytime soon.
Russia can barely attack Ukraine conventionally. While they are kept busy, Great Game Africa (and everywhere else) calls.
All the energy and minerals no longer coming from Russia, have to come from Africa and the Med.
Europe’s peasants may starve and freeze in the dark, but the surviving oligarchs ans their warrior technocratic elite will not be put out.
Russia will go nuclear and so will we….
i would guess the other way around….
Well if they do how do you feel if you survie that is living in a nuclear waste land ? ,where nuclear fall out will last for tens of thousands of years ?.
I’m not advocating nuclear war, it just seems to be the likely outcome… I am a peace activist…
Russia won’t go nuclear first.
They don’t need to; the war will jut take a lot longer to win.
“Russia can barely attack Ukraine conventionally.”
Based on what? Their unmitigated success so far, even while fighting with one hand behind their back?
When you say that Russia is fighting with “one hand behind their back” what exactly do you mean? That they haven’t yet used chemical weapons? That they haven’t carpet bombed cities full of women and children? What should they be doing in your opinion that they are not yet doing?
Based on the fact the Russian Armed Forces hasn’t won yet despite 20 days of fighting against the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Not only does Russia control very little Ukrainian territory, to take and hold what they have requires anywhere from 150 000 – 190 000 troops.
Yes, Russia may be holding back, but that only will increase the cost of war.
How anyone can find NATO defensive or the USA presence in Europe somehow conducive to peace defies all facts. If Russia is that terrible enemy and the very easy way to counteract the “danger” is to have an agreement where all the countries have rights including Russia, why is that tossed aside by NATO and the USA??? Russia gave very clear guidelines of its needs, it is genuinely concerned about the enemies (now 30 and coming next door against Russia’s border) and that would be very easy to do.
So in other words, the whole Ukraine mess turned out just as desired.
If they don’t put 500,000 troops in Europe, along with several armored divisions, and hundreds of fighter jets, in essence reverting to the Cold War stance from 40 years ago, Russia isn’t going to care. And if they do, Russia will prevent it from happening.
As one of Putin’s biggest cheerleaders you should at this point at least realize that what he has done has totally backfired. Instead of more security for Russia, he will have less. NATO countries in Europe will significantly increase military spending. Finland and Sweden will join NATO. And I think it’s pretty clear that Putin’s days are numbered. Russia is losing this war badly. This is why they’re starting to sound “more reasonable” in their negotiations with Ukraine.
They will either be more reasonable or they will escalate…
Russia is not sounding more reasonable … Zelensky is simply much more agreeable to Russia’s unchanged demands now that he sees NATO is not coming to his rescue and the propaganda is being rewritten to suit.
You need to stop reading the MSM. Nothing you said is true except possibly that the NATO countries will increase spending – if their economies allow them to, which, since their economies are going to be tanking, is unlikely.
First, Russia can’t “prevent it from happening” … she does not have the military strength on offense.
But second, why would you want to prevent you adversary from committing suicide through massive over commitment?
What could it possibly mean that “Russia doesn’t have the military strength on offense”? Russia can drop missiles on every airfield and port in Europe, preventing any buildup of US forces. Plus, thirty NATO war games prove that Russia will win any war with NATO – how is that not “military strength on offense”?
The difference between a Russian defensive war to preserve its own independence and territorial integrity versus Russia attempting to prevent the installation of nato personnel and equipment in nato countries should be obvious.
Hell, Russia has not even attempted to stop the current nato reinforcement actions in the Baltics and Poland. There is No Way they would stand in the way of a 500,000 person deployment.
Again, though, if I’m Russia, why the Hell would I stop my so-called adversary from shooting himself in the foot? The “west” cannot afford this level of commitment for any significant length of time and that would become obvious very quickly.
Heh, how you know an American has written the story. For me it wouldn’t even come to mind to mention Latvia before Estonia, since it’s “Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania” from north to south.
The idiots in DC just don’t get it.
no but the idiots who manufacture weapons of war seem to have figured it out.
so have the oil companies.
Perfecto!
History does nothing but repeat itself… We don’t seem to learn from anything, so we use old formulas and play the same dangerous games, expecting a different result… We usually end up in WAR…We have a “Use it or lose it mentality”. World War III anyone?… No thank you!