The Defense Department has abruptly canceled the deployment of more than 4,000 troops to Poland, three U.S. Army officials said on Thursday, the second major reduction in American forces in Europe this month that caught many military officials off guard.<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago, the Pentagon said it was withdrawing 5,000 troops<\/a> from Germany and would redeploy them to the United States and other posts overseas. It also canceled a plan developed under the Biden administration to place a missile-equipped artillery unit in Europe.<\/p>\n Those decisions came after President Trump angrily responded to remarks by Germany\u2019s chancellor, Friedrich Merz, that Iran had \u201chumiliated\u201d the United States. Mr. Merz questioned how Mr. Trump planned to end that conflict.<\/p>\n It was unclear why Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth canceled the deployment to Poland, which has close relations with the United States and had been considered a possible location for some of the forces leaving Germany. There are now about 7,400 U.S. troops in Poland, and the Army\u2019s V Corps has its forward headquarters in Poznan, Poland. <\/p>\n A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on Mr. Hegseth\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has told reporters that troop cuts in Europe would go even deeper. He has insisted that \u201cwe\u2019re cutting a lot further than 5,000\u201d service members from Germany and threatened to also pull troops out of Italy and Spain, countries that the president says have not supported the administration\u2019s goals in the U.S. war against Iran.<\/p>\n Pentagon officials have said that the administration\u2019s long-term aim is for European allies to shoulder more of the responsibility for defending the continent and lessen the U.S. military role there.<\/p>\n The Pentagon\u2019s pullbacks from Germany were sharply criticized by Democrats as well as some senior Republicans in Congress, who cited the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.<\/p>\n The cancellation of the deployment of the Second Armored Brigade Combat Team of the First Cavalry Division is probably part of a broader realignment of U.S. forces in Europe, said the Army officials and other U.S. military officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.<\/p>\n But the confusing way in which Mr. Hegseth and his top aides have handled the latest troop cancellation \u2014 many of the armored brigade\u2019s troops and much of its equipment have already arrived in Poland \u2014 has baffled and angered some Army officials and allies as well. The Army Times previously reported<\/a> the canceled deployment.<\/p>\n Army Secretary Daniel P. Driscoll and Gen. Christopher C. LaNeve, the acting Army chief of staff, did not mention the move in their testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.<\/p>\n A NATO official acknowledged on Thursday that the United States was adjusting its troop presence in Europe but added that the cancellation of the American brigade would not affect the alliance\u2019s deterrence and defense plans. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters, said that Canada and Germany had already increased forces on the alliance\u2019s eastern flank.<\/p>\n