Cannon fodder for nuclear war: What the US division deployed to Poland will become

Tuesday, June 5, 2018
By Paul Martin

RT.com
5 Jun, 2018

Recently, we learned that Poland is ready to pay up to $2 billion for a permanent US military base on its territory. The Pentagon has reportedly agreed to consider the deal.
International experts are divided as to whether or not it makes sense to deploy an American armored division to Poland, just 250km from the Russian border. The proposal by the Poles raises certain concerns, as not everybody agrees that it would be expedient or even advisable for the US. A recent Defense News publication speaks to that effect.

Poland is prepared to invest in the construction of the base, including its service buildings, housing, military equipment hangars, and warehouses to store everything that is needed for the deployment of a US division.

However, US experts say the Polish proposals raise more questions than they offer answers. The main question is whether or not Warsaw is ready to finance the base’s operations after the initial funds are tapped out. There is no clarity there yet. And this is not a secondary question for the US military command. A permanent base on Polish soil will cost quite a bit.

It is also not clear whether the Poles would be able to host the whole armored division as one camp, or if its units would be spread out through different military towns. It is an important question for the US military, because it will determine where the Americans will pull their forces from – continental America or western Germany.

Also, it took the US several decades to establish its base in Germany, and now they have wonderful, world-class training facilities there; whereas in Poland, they would have to start from scratch for the most part. They will basically be beginning construction in the middle of nowhere. It is unclear whether the Poles could find a location where the whole American division could conduct training exercises. Just to remind you, the US armored command has almost 300 tanks, 150 SPGs and mortars, 300 pieces of anti-tank equipment – a significant force. And every training field requires a certain capacity – it needs to fit a battalion, a regiment, or a division.

European Russia, for example, has only one military training field where a full division can carry out live-fire exercises. That’s why the Americans are asking themselves, “Maybe it would make more sense to use rotational forces in Poland?” They have already praised the positive effects of NATO’s rotational brigades and battalions in Eastern Europe.

These are not the most important issues concerning the redeployment of a US division to Poland. These are neither strategic nor operational concerns. Here is what’s really important, and it would be good to hear Polish experts on strategic and operational planning answer this question: “What facts are you using as the foundation of your claims about Moscow’s growing aggression?”

The Rest…HERE

Leave a Reply

Join the revolution in 2018. Revolution Radio is 100% volunteer ran. Any contributions are greatly appreciated. God bless!

Follow us on Twitter