The top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee said Monday he backs a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland to restrain Russia — an outpost Polish officials say they may name “Fort Trump.”
“A larger U.S. presence would deter bad actions in the region” by Russia, Washington state Democrat and committee Chairman Adam Smith of Washington state told reporters Monday.
“I just want to make sure [Russian President Vladimir] Putin does not think he can do what he did in Ukraine to another eastern European country” without suffering consequences from the U.S. or NATO, Mr. Smith told a breakfast of defense writers Monday morning.
Earlier this year, Poland agreed to contribute over $2 billion to the construction and operation of the base, Kathryn Wheelbarger, acting assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told Congress in March.
Polish President Andrzej Duda, who is slated to visit Mr. Trump at the White House Wednesday, has already floated the idea of naming the permanent post “Fort Trump.”
• Carlo Muñoz can be reached at cmunoz@washingtontimes.com.
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