America’s Enduring Commitment to Europe
SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN
Ran in May 1st print edition of Poland’s Rzeczpospolita newspaper
Later this month, the City of Chicago, long considered the proud capital for Polish-Americans,
will be the center of global attention as it hosts over 50 heads of state from around the world for
the 25th Summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The NATO Summit, the first
in the U.S. since 1999 and the first ever outside of Washington, comes at a critical time for the
United States, Poland and our allies as we wrestle with mounting security challenges and
unprecedented economic problems around the globe and at home.
A number of tough issues will be raised at the Chicago Summit, but one fact that should not be up
for debate in Chicago, or at any point in the future, is America’s ongoing commitment to the
security and defense of our allies in Poland and the rest of Europe.
The United States security establishment recently completed a comprehensive and highly
publicized review of its national defense strategy. Ending one war and slowly transitioning out of
another, while simultaneously facing significant fiscal deficits and a declining defense budget,
explains a perhaps inevitable shift in strategy and an evolution to a smaller, leaner and more
flexible military force.
The portion of the review that garnered the most headlines was America’s decision to “rebalance”
towards the Asia-Pacific region. Despite the publicity, this should not be a controversial or
surprising shift.
Since California joined the Union in 1850, the United States has been a Pacific power. For
decades we have been heavily engaged in Asia militarily and economically. Asia will remain the
fastest growing, most dynamic region in the world for the foreseeable future. As such, it will be
critically important for the United States – and for Europe – to maintain and advance our presence
and relationships in this region.
Questions have been raised about how the shift impacts the NATO Alliance and what these
changes mean for our allies in Poland and the rest of Europe. Critics have wrongly decried the
move as America turning its back on Europe, a sentiment which could not be further from the
truth. In fact, if we are to meet the security challenges of this century, America and Europe must
find a way to deepen our ties as we pivot together towards the Asia-Pacific.
The fact is that Europe remains America’s partner of choice in dealing with the countless global
threats we face in today’s world. President Obama has called Europe the “cornerstone” of our
international engagement and, over the last three and a half years, his administration has backed
up those words with deeds by further deepening and expanding the transatlantic partnership. As
our new strategic guidance states, “Europe is our principal partner in seeking global and economic
security, and will remain so for the foreseeable future.”
Our ties are a result of not only shared values but also a calculation that deep and unfailing
engagement with our European allies is good for American security. It always has been. From
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dealing with rogue regimes to enhancing energy security to fighting terrorism around the globe,
America will need a strong and engaged Europe and will remain fundamentally committed to our
partners there, including Poland.
It is true that America’s military posture in Europe is evolving as a result of our new strategic
guidance. We will be removing two heavy infantry brigades from Germany. This decision did
not come as a surprise to those following America’s military presence in Europe as the possibility
of taking such action has been contemplated for nearly a decade. However, these two brigades,
which were most often deployed in warzones outside of Europe, do not represent the whole of our
defense relationship with Europe. Far from it.
After sixty years of American military presence in Europe and over a decade of fighting shoulderto-shoulder in Afghanistan, our military and security ties to our friends in Poland and Europe run
far deeper. In fact, in recent months we have spent too much time focused on the few troops that
are leaving and too little time talking about what will remain as a further demonstration of
America’s commitment.
First, over 30,000 U.S. Army personnel (and over 70,000 total military personnel) will remain in
Europe, which represents the largest concentration of U.S. forces outside of the continental
United States. We will maintain a Stryker brigade and an Airborne brigade, uniquely positioned
to assure allies, deter adversaries, and conduct joint exercises with our partners. We will continue
to engage in personnel exchanges and will enhance our special operations joint efforts with
Europe in the years ahead.
In addition, America will identify a U.S.-based brigade to contribute as a land component to the
NATO Response Force (NRF) and has plans to rotate a battalion-sized task-force to Germany for
training and exercises. America’s reinvigorated commitment to the NRF and the rotating task
force will not only open up new opportunities for U.S. troops to train and exercise with our
European counterparts, it will ensure that we continue to build interoperable NATO forces that
can effectively address a wide range of missions in defense of our common interests.
Finally – and perhaps most relevant to some of our European allies – the U.S. remains strongly
committed to missile defense for our allies in Europe.
In recent weeks, the missile defense issue has jumped back onto the front pages over unguarded
comments President Obama made to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. President Obama’s
suggestion that a sensitive and bipartisan agreement on missile defense would be difficult in the
midst of a heated Presidential campaign should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever
worked in politics. Unfortunately, the incident resurrected a tired and false political refrain that
America is somehow not dedicated to the security of our allies in Europe, a disingenuous
sentiment that denies the facts.
The United States remains committed to all four phases of the President’s missile defense plan for
Europe, called the European Phased Adaptive Approach (EPAA). The strategy has been fully
embraced by the NATO Alliance and will utilize American assets in Poland and Romania,
American ships in Spain and a radar installation in Turkey.
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With the key elements of the first phase of the program in place and operational, the
administration’s support for the program continues in its budget request for next year, despite an
extremely difficult budget environment. And, as countless officials have reiterated over the last
several years, no country – Russia included – will have a veto over how and when NATO missile
defense is developed and deployed.
Poland remains a fundamental component of America’s military posture and plans in Europe.
Poland has committed to providing a significant contribution to the EPAA, and over the past two
years America has been supporting a Patriot battery rotation on Polish soil in order to deepen our
missile defense ties.
Later this year, the United States will establish an aviation detachment in Poland, the first
continuous presence of U.S. troops in Polish territory. The detachment will be supported by F-16
and C-130 rotations, thereby strengthening the interoperability of our respective air forces and
demonstrating our enduring partnership with Poland. We also envision continued opportunities
for American and Polish troops to train and conduct exercises together on Polish territory,
replicating the success of the recent DRAGON 11 live-fire joint multinational exercise conducted
in October with the U.S. 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team.
In addition to our military ties, we should be doing more to increase our non-defense relations
with Poland as well. This is why I am supporting efforts in the United States Congress, strongly
backed by President Obama, to add Poland to America’s Visa Waiver Program. Polish citizens
should be able to travel to the United States without visas, like citizens from much of the rest of
Europe. I will work with the Obama Administration and my colleagues in Congress to find a path
forward for this important effort.
The world is no doubt changing at an extraordinary pace, and the threats to the United States and
our NATO allies are more complex and diverse than ever before. As we look to meet the
challenges of the 21st Century, the transatlantic relationship will evolve, mature and grow in
importance. America will remain engaged with European partners like Poland because deeper
ties with Europe are good for the United States, good for NATO and good for our common
security at home and abroad.
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) serves on the United States Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations, where she is the Chair of the Subcommittee on European Affairs. She is also a member
of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation
in Europe.
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