On September 5, Dr. Andrew Michta, nonresident senior fellow in the Scowcroft Strategy Initiative, argued that the United States should build a permanent military installation in Poland in an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal. He asserts that—while Germany, France, and the United Kingdom have not met NATO’s spending target and are even reducing the size of their militaries—Poland and other states on the Alliance’s eastern flank have proved their resolve through their robust support for Ukraine. Rather than maintaining the status quo represented by legacy military facilities in Germany, the United States should turn to NATO’s “coalition of the delivering” and move its troops and resources to where they are most needed.
The war in Ukraine has made clear how dangerous our current round of great-power competition is and reinforced the basic principle of deterrence and defense: There’s no substitute for military power and a permanent forward presence. The critical point of contact for NATO going forward is Poland.
The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world.