Among the changes will be a permanent US guard in Poland, establishing for the first time a permanent US base on the east side of the alliance. Biden also said the United States would send two additional squadrons of F-35 fighter jets to the United Kingdom and more air defenses and other capabilities to Germany and Italy. “The United States will strengthen our position in Europe and respond to the changing security environment as well as enhance our collective security,” said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, during a meeting at the Alliance’s annual summit in Madrid. Dry language has denied the dramatic change in progress as the United States prepares to keep 100,000 troops in Europe for the “predicted future”, up from 80,000 before the start of the war in Ukraine. Stoltenberg, who said earlier on Wednesday that the alliance was facing the biggest challenge since World War II because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, welcomed Biden’s announcement. “This really shows your resolute leadership and strength in the transatlantic bond,” Stoltenberg said, thanking Biden for his “unwavering support from you and the United States in Ukraine.” The expanding US military presence was still far behind during the Cold War, when an average of about 300,000 US troops were in the area. But it signals a renewed focus on European security. And the US announcement is reinforced by other commitments made by allies on the continent. NATO plans to increase the size of the rapid reaction force from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year. Although the troops would be based in their countries of origin, they would be ready to deploy further east, where the alliance would store equipment and ammunition. Max Bergman, a former State Department official who is director of the European Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it was “a crucial year” for the continent and the alliance. “It is an extremely important turning point, and a point that historians are going to look at,” he said. He described the decision to move US forces further east as particularly significant. “We will defend the line,” he said. “We are not going to just have a rope. We are not going to concede anything. “ Biden said the United States would intensify its temporary troop deployments to Romania and the Baltic region, in addition to the permanent deployment of the US Army Corps V Corps front office in Poland. Celeste Wallander, the US assistant secretary of defense for international affairs, told reporters that a long-term presence in Poland would be the key to helping NATO navigate the changing security environment in Europe triggered by the Russian invasion. The United States provides most of NATO’s military might. The President of Poland Andrzej Duda, present in Madrid, said on Twitter that the permanent presence of the US military structure was an “extremely important decision” and a “decision we were waiting for”. U.S. officials stressed that the permanent base was valid only for headquarters units, not combat troops, and therefore complied with a 1997 agreement between NATO and Russia, in which the alliance agreed not to station permanent combat troops in the East. Europe, as it aimed to build more constructive ties in the post-Cold War environment. Biden’s combat units in Romania and the Baltic region are being rotated, rather than permanently deployed, to comply with the agreement. “There has been no communication with Moscow about these changes, nor is there a requirement to do so,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for Biden’s National Security Council. Biden announced Tuesday after arriving for the summit that the United States would base two additional destroyers at its naval base in Rota, Spain, bringing the total to six. Biden predicted that this week’s meetings would lead to a “history-making summit” as leaders were to adopt a new strategic framework, announce a series of steps to boost their defense spending and capabilities, and pave the way for historically neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin believed that NATO members would split after his invasion of Ukraine, but received the opposite response. “Putin was looking for the Finnishization of Europe,” Biden said. “You will achieve the NATO integration of Europe. “And that is exactly what he did not want, but exactly what needs to be done to ensure security for Europe.” Turkey, the last remaining bloc to approve the Nordic countries’ NATO membership, reached an agreement late Tuesday to support their addition to the 30-nation alliance. While the White House said the United States was not directly involved in the talks, a senior government official said Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday to encourage him to pave the way for Suu Kyi and Swin to join. The two leaders met on Wednesday, and Biden praised Erdogan for his support for NATO enlargement. They also discussed ways to export Ukrainian cereals to reduce food shortages around the world. “You are doing a great job, I just want to thank you,” Biden said. Not all talks at the NATO summit were about European security. Biden met Wednesday with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who attended the conference as the alliance seeks to strengthen ties in the Indo-Pacific region and meet challenges from China. The three leaders discussed North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Biden said the three found “deeply worrying.” Biden called for “tripartite co-operation” and said the meeting was an opportunity for leaders to coordinate a joint response, with US officials saying the isolated nation could soon conduct another nuclear test. Biden attended the leaders’ dinner on Wednesday with two of his granddaughters, Phinegan and Meizi, instead of Jill’s wife. The US President introduced them to his Turkish and Spanish counterparts. __ Associated Press authors Aamer Madhani and Chris Megerian in Washington and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
