Trump pledges extra 5,000 troops for Poland as Rubio meets allies

HELSINGBORG, Sweden: U.S. President Donald Trump surprised NATO allies by pledging to send an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, only hours before Secretary of State Marco Rubio was to meet alliance ministers in Sweden on Friday amid deep divisions over the Iran war.Trump, in a Truth Social post, cited his relationship with Poland’s conservative nationalist president, Karol Nawrocki, as the reason behind his decision to send additional troops.”Based on the successful Election of the now ⁠President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, who I was proud to Endorse, and our relationship with him, I am pleased to announce that the United States will be sending an additional 5,000 Troops to Poland,” Trump said in the post.It was a surprising turnabout after weeks in which Trump fiercely criticised NATO members for not doing more to help the U.S.-Israeli military ‌campaign. He has said he is considering withdrawing from the alliance and questioned whether Washington was bound to honour its mutual defence pact.Before leaving for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in the Swedish town of Helsingborg, Rubio said Trump was “very disappointed” in alliance members ‌who had not allowed the U.S. to use bases on their territory for the war, ‌singling out Spain in particular. “You have countries like Spain denying U.S. the use of these bases – well then why are ‌you in NATO? That’s a very fair question,” ‌Rubio told reporters in Miami. “In fairness, other countries in NATO have been very helpful. But we need to discuss that.”NATO officials have stressed the U.S. did not ask ​the 32-member alliance to take part ‌in the Iran war, but many members have ​honoured commitments to allow U.S. forces to use their ⁠airspace and bases on their territory.European concerns about Trump’s attitude toward NATO were also exacerbated this year by Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, a territory of fellow NATO member Denmark.EUROPEANS SAY THEY ARE READY TO HELP WITH HORMUZAt the gathering in Helsingborg, ​European ministers are expected to ⁠try to placate the U.S. by ⁠stressing they are ready to help with freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz when conditions permit and to take more responsibility for European security. Iran has restricted traffic through the strait during the war.European fears about Trump’s commitment to NATO have ⁠been heightened by the decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Europe, issued before Thursday’s pledge to send additional troops to Poland.It was not immediately clear where the additional troops for Poland would come from.Washington’s allies have also been confused and unsettled by the way the decision was communicated. U.S. officials first said the troops would be withdrawn from Germany but later said they would delay the deployment of a brigade to Poland.The United States has also said a planned ‌deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany will no longer go ahead. In addition, it plans to tell NATO allies it will shrink the pool of military ​capabilities the U.S. makes available to the alliance in a crisis, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. NATO’s top commander, U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, sought this week to reassure European allies about the recent decisions, saying further drawdowns would stretch over years to give allies time to develop capabilities to replace them.