From the Liveblog of
Friday, May 22, 2026
NATO allies, US officials confused by Trump’s about-face on troop deployment to Europe
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
NATO allies and defense officials express bewilderment at US President Donald Trump’s decision to send 5,000 US troops to Poland just weeks after he had ordered 5,000 troops to be pulled out of Europe.
“It is confusing indeed, and not always easy to navigate,” Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard tells reporters at a meeting she hosted of her NATO counterparts, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
One of two US defense officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military matters says: “We just spent the better part of two weeks reacting to the first announcement. We don’t know what this means either.”
In a post on Truth Social overnight, said he was “pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland.” He said this was due to his strong ties with Polish President Karol Nawrocki, whom Trump endorsed in elections last year.
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski welcomed Trump’s decision, which ensures that “the presence of American troops in Poland will be maintained more or less at previous levels.”
Earlier this month, The Trump administration said it was reducing levels in Europe by about 5,000 troops, and US officials confirmed about 4,000 service members were no longer deploying to Poland.
That announcement came as Trump fumed over remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that the US was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of strategy in the war.
The Times of Israel Community.