Poland, which established a permanent US military base, aims at Russia with ‘NATO spear’

Responding head-on to the Russian threat… Putin Fights Belarus With Tactical Nuclear Deployment

In Lafayette Park near the White House in the United States, there is a statue of General Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817), a Polish native. General Kosciuszko voluntarily participated in the American War of Independence and made a remarkable contribution as a commander of the Corps of Engineers from 1776 to 1783. He built many military bases, including the United States Military Academy (West Point) in New York. General George Washington, commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the time, promoted him to brigadier general in honor of his achievements.

After returning to Poland, he fought for his country’s independence. Appointed as lieutenant general in the army, he led the peasants who did not even have weapons against the invasion of Russia as the commander-in-chief in 1794 and won the Battle of Racławice. However, after losing the war, he was exiled to Siberia by the Russian army until 1796, and after being released, he exiled to France via the United States. He worked for Polish independence in France and moved to Switzerland at the end of his life, where he died. He left a will to his friend Thomas Jefferson, who was also the father of American independence, to use all his pension and property he received from the United States to free slaves and establish schools for blacks.

U.S. paratroopers and Polish armored units pose for a commemorative photo after a combined military exercise. [폴란드 국방부]

On March 21 (local time), the US government established a permanent US military base in Poznan, western Poland, named ‘Camp Kos′ciuszko’ after him. This is the first time the United States has established a permanent base in Central and Eastern Europe. The new base will be the Polish headquarters of Forward Command for the US Army’s V Corps, covering all of Europe. The Polish government has been asking the US government to permanently station US troops in Poland instead of temporarily rotating NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) forces in preparation for a Russian invasion.

Lieutenant General John Kolasewski, commander of the US Army’s 5th Corps, said, “The establishment of a permanent US military base in Poland marks the beginning of a new role for the United States in Central and Eastern Europe.” “The US military presence in Poland is worthy of being evaluated as a groundbreaking event in the history of US military operations in Europe after World War II,” said Lieutenant General Kolaseski. U.S. Ambassador to Poland Mark Brzezinski said, “The establishment of this permanent base demonstrates America’s commitment to Poland and NATO and our unity in the face of a Russian invasion.”

The base supervises and supports approximately 10,000 US troops deployed on rotation in Poland. In Poland, there are rotational deployments of US troops in Poznan and Zagan. In particular, since Russia invaded Ukraine, the United States has been augmenting and deploying various weapons, including troops and state-of-the-art tanks, the M1A2 SEPv3 and two batteries of the PAC-3 MSE, in Poland. In addition, the Aegis Ashore missile base under construction in Redzikovo, northern Poland, is scheduled to be put into operation this year. The US also deployed six F-22s, the world’s most powerful fighter, to Poland from July to December of last year.

The reason why the US attaches so much importance to Poland militarily is that Poland is a strategic point connecting southwestern and northeastern Europe. It is for this reason that during World War II, Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union engaged in a fierce battle to occupy Poland. Poland was a key member of the Warsaw Pact, which was created in 1955 to counter NATO while the Soviet Union communized Central and Eastern European countries after World War II. At that time, the members of the Warsaw Pact were eight countries: the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, and Czechoslovakia.

Currently, Europe’s security structure is in conflict with Russia and NATO, led by the United States, over Ukraine. In the midst of this, Poland is serving as a central role in supporting Ukraine from the West, including NATO. Moreover, Poland is also the head of the ‘Bucharest Nine (B9)’, a group of nine countries in Central and Eastern Europe, which were called satellite states of the Soviet Union in the past. B9 is a security consultative body of Central and Eastern European countries that was formed in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, in 2015 in response to Russia’s forcible annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014. Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia are members. Because of this background, the United States expects Poland to continue to be NATO’s sharp ‘spear’ aimed at Russia.

Poland is actively pursuing a pro-US and pro-Western policy more than ever to respond to Russia’s security threat, which is closely related to its unfortunate history in the past. Until independence on November 11, 1918, Poland had to suffer for 123 years due to the invasion and division and occupation of European powers such as Russia. In particular, the Soviet Union continued its bad relationship even after that. Poland was again divided by the invasion of the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany on the eve of World War II. In June 1939, the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany concluded a secret protocol (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) to divide and govern Poland and the Baltic States. Accordingly, on September 1, 1939, Nazi Germany invaded western Poland and the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland. Immediately after the occupation, the Soviet Union committed an atrocity called the Katyn Forest Massacre, in which 22,000 people, including Polish army officers, police officers, university professors, priests and doctors, were executed.

In addition, in August 1944, when World War II was nearing its end, Polish resistance forces fought an armed struggle against the Nazi German occupation in the capital, Warsaw, but the Soviet Army did not support it. Because of this, 200,000 Poles were slaughtered and Warsaw was reduced to ashes while suffering ruthless reprisal from Nazi Germany. Soviet troops, who had been sitting on the sidelines to establish a communist government in Poland, entered Warsaw only in January 1945. Afterwards, the Soviet Union established a communist government in Poland in 1947, effectively ruling it indirectly. It is for this reason that the anti-Soviet movement was actively carried out in Poland during the Cold War. Poland has the same language and lineage as Russia, but its social and cultural identity is quite different. Unlike other Slavic countries, Poland’s official religion is Catholic, and the Latin alphabet (Roman alphabet) is used.

Poland, above all else, is concentrating its efforts on strengthening its military power. Poland, which became the first country in Central and Eastern Europe to join NATO in 1999, has been active in military cooperation with the United States. In 2019, it signed a contract to introduce 32 F-35A stealth fighters for the first time among Central and Eastern European countries. In addition, it plans to introduce 208 PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles and deploy eight batteries by 2025. It has signed a contract with the United States to purchase 250 M1A2 SEPv3 and 116 M1A1, respectively, and plans to purchase weapons worth 10 billion dollars (approximately 13 trillion won) from the United States, including 18 HIMARS. .

Poland also announced plans to increase its defense budget this year to 4 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the largest among NATO member countries. The Russian invasion of Ukraine was the catalyst for Poland’s strengthening of its defense. Poland shares borders with Ukraine for 500 km to the southeast and Kaliningrad, a Russian extraterritorial territory located between Lithuania and Poland to the north, stretching for 230 km. In particular, it shares a 416 km border with Belarus, a military ally of Russia. Poland has also stepped up to support Ukraine. Among NATO members, it provided the most weapons, including 12 Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters and 14 German-made Leopard-2 tanks, following the United States and Britain.

Polish President Andrzej Duda gives a speech in front of a Korean-made K9 self-propelled howitzer arriving at his port. [폴란드 대통령실]

Poland even shows its intention to take the lead in containing Russia by possessing the strongest military power among NATO member countries in Europe. This is why Poland signed a super-large contract with South Korea last year, including 980 K2 tanks, 648 K9 self-propelled howitzers, 48 ​​FA50 light attack aircraft, and 288 K239 Cheonmu multiple rocket launchers. Poland is also reviewing the purchase of the Redback, a next-generation combat armored vehicle made in Korea, and has requested the construction of a local plant that can produce 100,000 rounds of K9 shells and K2 tank shells per year in Korea.

Poland plans to increase its armed forces from the current 143,500 to 300,000 within five years. Public opinion on the conscription system is also changing significantly. Poland abolished the conscription system in 2009, citing it as a remnant of the Soviet era, but a recent poll showed 54% of the vote in favor of reinstating the system. In particular, Poland proposed to the United States the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons, just like the five NATO member states, including Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Turkey. Unlike Germany and other NATO Western European countries, it is showing its will to respond head-on to Russia’s threat. This is why Poland is emerging as a ‘new leader’ in the military field that will lead Western European countries as well as Central and Eastern European countries in the future. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s announcement on March 25 that he would deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus can also be seen as an attempt to check Poland’s move to strengthen its military power.

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Weekly Donga

Published in issue 1383>

Janghoon Lee International Affairs Analyst [email protected]

Source: Donga

Mark

Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.