Pentagon open to Poland’s offer to host permanent U.S. base, Polish minister says

The U.S. Department of Defense is open to Poland’s offer to host a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Thursday after meeting U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Brussels. Poland has been pushing for a bigger allied presence on NATO’s eastern flank after Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in 2022. “I had the opportunity to speak today with the Secretary of War — we discussed collective defense and cooperation,” Kosiniak-Kamysz told reporters in Brussels. “The U.S. responded positively to Poland’s proposal to establish a permanent U.S. military base in Poland.” No decision has been taken yet, he added. Poland has so far hosted U.S. troops on a rotational basis. On Thursday, Hegseth announced a new review of America’s troop deployments in Europe and threatened to withhold some U.S. dues to NATO if “free riding” allies did not meet their defense spending commitments.