MADRID aEUR” President Biden declared that the U.S. would increase its military presence in Europe. This included more naval destroyers in Spain, two F-35 fighter-jet squadrons positioned in Britain, and a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland.
As Russia’s invasion continues, and Europe grows more nervous about the war in their region, this increased force posture is a natural result.
Biden stated that the United States and its allies would step up to the NATO summit in Madrid. “We are proving that NATO has never been more important and needed.”
Some NATO members were reluctant to increase their military budgets or contribute to the common defense before Russia invaded. This has changed over the past months and other NATO members will likely announce an increase in force posture during the summit.
The summit saw Turkey also drop its objections about Sweden and Finland joining the alliance.
The U.S. Department of Defense increased the number of U.S. soldiers in Europe from 80,000 to over 100,000 since February when Russia invaded Ukraine.
These numbers will remain high, and the U.S. plans for a stronger presence with its surge forces. These measures are part of the announcement:
Celeste Wallander (assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, United States Department of Defense) stated that “This is an important decision precisely because of the changing security environment and recognition that the United States must have a longer-term capability to sustain our presence and train our activities and support the countries of the east flank.”
Wallander stated that the goal was to communicate that there are “effective defense capacities” to deter further Russian aggression in Europe.
