Poland, US vital part of changes in NATO - US general - News - National Security Bureau

15.08.2017

Poland, US vital part of changes in NATO - US general

Poland and the United States play a vital role in building NATO's deterrence ability, General Ben Hodges, commanding general, United States Army Europe, said on Tuesday.

General Hodges, speaking after a Warsaw military parade marking the Armed Forces Day, said that Poland was a leader inside NATO. He called Poland a reliable ally and stressed the country's involvement in security building and investments in defence.

Referring to the initiative to enlarge allied presence in the region, General Hodges said that 28 NATO countries agreed in Warsaw a year before that all countries must do more, conduct transformations aimed to raise the deterrence ability and added that Poland was a leader in those efforts.

The general stressed that he was proud that the US had contributed to this effort with its battalion battle group within the forward, enhanced presence as did Germany, Lithuania, Great Britain, France, Italy, Romania and the entire Alliance.

Asked whether the region was safer thanks to the presence of the US and other allies in the region, the general stressed that all must keep their eyes wide-open and remember about history, but added that any kind of aggression was unlikely as long as NATO countries stuck together and continued to do what Poland was doing, to invest in their own security.

Earlier in the day, Polish President Andrzej Duda decorated General Hodges with the Commander's Cross with a Star of the Order of Merit.

Source: PAP