Politico says Poland was caught off guard after a US notice on halting an armored brigade rotation remained unread in secure email.
According to Politico, the US decision to suspend the deployment of an armored brigade came as a complete surprise to Poland’s military command.
The outlet reported that the Pentagon had sent a notice to the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, General Wieslaw Kukula, early last week. However, the message ended up in a secure email account and remained unread for some time. As a result, Polish officials learned about the change not through direct channels, but from reports in the American press.
Pentagon spokesman Joel Valdez said the troop withdrawal decision was made through a broad, multi-level review that took into account the views of key leaders and the full chain of command.
Politico reported that the decision affected more than 4,000 soldiers of the US 2nd Armored Brigade, whose rotation was canceled. The notice sent through classified communication channels was brief and offered no explanation. Because of strict rules for handling classified information, the message remained unopened for an extended period.
The publication also recalled that Polish Deputy Prime Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz had earlier stated that the suspension of the deployment did not mean a final reduction of the US military presence. At the same time, Politico’s sources expressed frustration over confusion inside the General Staff, where officers ended up learning important developments from newspapers.