U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, opposes the Pentagon’s recent decision not to maintain a rotational U.S. brigade in Romania, and says its process for ongoing force posture review could result in further drawdowns of U.S. forces from Eastern Europe.
“Pulling back U.S. forces from NATO’s Eastern flank prematurely, and just weeks after Russian drones violated Romanian airspace, undermines deterrence and risks inviting further Russian aggression,” said Sen. Wicker and U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, in a joint statement released Oct. 29.
“This decision also sends the wrong signal to Russia at the very moment President Trump is applying pressure to force Vladimir Putin to come to the table to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine,” they said.
The lawmakers pointed out that on March 19, they said they would not accept significant changes to the U.S. warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff, and collaboration with Congress.
“Unfortunately, this appears to be exactly what is being attempted,” Sen. Wicker and Rep. Rogers said. “Two weeks ago, President Trump stated that the United States would not be withdrawing U.S. forces in Europe, but instead ‘may move some around a little bit.’
“The president is right that U.S. force posture in Europe needs to be updated as NATO shoulders additional burdens and the character of warfare changes,” they added. “But that update must be coordinated widely both within the U.S. government and with NATO.”
Romania has been a strong ally, making major investments to host U.S. forces and modernize the infrastructure that supports them, according to the lawmakers.
“These investments, alongside their contributions to NATO’s eastern defenses and Black Sea security, underscore Romania’s central role in the alliance’s security,” they said, noting that U.S. allies in Europe have agreed to shoulder historic levels of the burden of collective defense.
However, European rearmament will take time, said Sen. Wicker and his colleague, so now is the time for America to demonstrate its resolve against Russian aggression.
“Unfortunately, the Pentagon’s decision appears uncoordinated and directly at odds with the president’s strategy,” they said, expressing concerns that Congress was not consulted in advance of the decision.
Sen. Wicker and Rep. Rogers requested clarification from the Pentagon on how it plans to mitigate the impact of its decision on NATO’s deterrence and defense posture and whether it coordinated with allies to minimize the consequences.
“We will also seek assurances that, as the president has previously stated, the two armored brigades in Poland remain in place, and that the United States continues to sustain a persistent rotational presence in Poland, the Baltic states, and Romania,” according to their statement.
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