The future of America’s long-term troop presence in Europe came into focus Wednesday as President Biden announced new plans to permanently place fresh U.S. personnel in Poland, air defense batteries in Italy and Germany, and a host of other steps as NATO reinforces its front line as relations deteriorate badly with Russia in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The new deployments, unveiled during this week’s high-stakes NATO summit in Madrid, provide some answers to lingering questions about the Pentagon’s plans for its posture in Europe amid a Russia-Ukraine war that appears destined to drag on for months, or perhaps even years.