Two Republican congressmen believe that the US decision to withdraw troops sends “the wrong signal to Russia”
American Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, and Representative Mike Rogers, Republican of Alabama, expressed their disagreement on Wednesday, October 29, with the Pentagon's decision to stop the rotation of the American brigade in Romania.
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Roger Wicker is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, and Mike Rogers is the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
“We firmly oppose the decision not to maintain the American rotating brigade in Romania and the Pentagon's process of continuous review of the position of forces, which could lead to the further reduction of American forces in Eastern Europe”. declare the two Republican congressmen, writes News.ro.
They recall that as early as March 19 they stated that they would not accept significant changes to the American combat structure if these decisions were made without “a rigorous inter-institutional process“, without a “coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint General Staff” and without o “collaboration with Congress.”
“Unfortunately, that seems to be exactly what they're trying to do”the two congressmen add.
They point out that two weeks ago, President Donald Trump said that the United States would not withdraw American forces from Europe, but “they will move them a little”.
“The president is right that the US force posture in Europe needs to be updated as NATO takes on additional responsibilities and the nature of warfare changes. But this update must be broadly coordinated both within the US government and with NATO.”say Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers.
Also, the two show that Romania “has been a strong ally, making major investments to house American forces and modernize the infrastructure that supports them.”
“Romania has spent more than 2% of GDP on the military for many years and has pledged to reach 5% of GDP. These investments, along with its contributions to NATO's eastern defense and Black Sea security, underline Romania's central role in the Alliance's security
In particular, since 2016, Romania hosts an American Aegis Ashore missile defense detachment, accepting substantial political, military and economic risks to use systems designed primarily for the defense of NATO allies, not necessarily for the defense of its own territory.they emphasize.
The decision sends “a wrong signal to Russia”
The two commission presidents mention that “thanks to President Trump's leadership,” the European allies agreed to endure a “historical burden” in terms of collective defense, but I draw attention to the fact that European rearmament will take time.
They say that this decision sends, at the same time, “the wrong signal to Russia”, at the very moment when President Trump is exerting pressure to force Vladimir Putin to sit down at the negotiating table to achieve a lasting peace in Ukraine.
“The president is absolutely right: now is the time for America to demonstrate its resolve against Russian aggression. Unfortunately, the Pentagon's decision it seems uncoordinated and in direct contradiction with the president's strategy”noted the two leaders of the US Congress.
That is why the two ask the Pentagon for explanations, criticizing the lack of consultation with Congress and asking for guarantees that the brigades in Poland and the US presence in the Baltic states and Romania will be maintained.
“We request clarification from the Pentagon on how it intends to mitigate the impact of this decision on NATO's deterrence and defense posture and whether it has coordinated with allies to minimize these consequences,” announce the two Republican congressmen.
