马德里-美国总统乔·拜登周三表示，美国将大幅扩大其在欧洲的军事存在，这是俄罗斯入侵欧洲的最新例证乌克兰重塑了欧洲大陆的安全计划，并推动了对北约的再投资。
变化之一将是美国在波兰的永久驻军，这将是美国首次在北约东翼建立持久的立足点。拜登还表示，美国将向英国增派两个中队的F-35战斗机，向德国和意大利增派更多的防空和其他能力。
“美国将增强我们在欧洲的军事力量，并对不断变化的安全形势做出反应环境以及加强我们的集体安全，”他在马德里举行的北约年度领导人峰会上与北约秘书长延斯·斯托尔滕贝格会晤时说。
干巴巴的语言掩盖了正在发生的戏剧性转变，因为美国准备在“可预见的未来”在欧洲保留10万军队，高于乌克兰战争开始前的8万人。
斯托尔滕贝格周三早些时候表示，由于俄罗斯入侵乌克兰，北约正面临二战以来最大的挑战，他对拜登的声明表示欢迎。
斯托尔滕贝格说:“这确实证明了你在跨大西洋纽带中的决定性领导作用和力量，”他感谢拜登“你和美国对乌克兰的坚定支持。”
不断扩大的美国军事存在仍远低于冷战时期的数量，当时平均约有30万美国军队驻扎在该地区。但这标志着对欧洲安全的重新关注。美国的声明得到了非洲盟友的其他承诺的支持。
北约计划明年将快速反应部队的规模从4万人增加到30万人。尽管这些部队将驻扎在他们自己的国家，但他们将准备好部署到更远的东部，在那里联盟将储存装备和弹药。
前国务院官员、战略与国际研究中心欧洲项目主任马克斯·博格曼说，对欧洲大陆和联盟来说，这是“决定性的一年”。
“这是一个非常重要的转折点，也是历史学家将要回顾的一个转折点，”他说。
他认为将美军进一步向东转移的决定尤其值得注意。
“我们要捍卫这条线，”他说。“我们不只是要一个绊网。我们不会放弃任何东西。”
拜登表示，除了在波兰永久驻扎美国陆军第五军团前方指挥部之外，美国还将增加在罗马尼亚和波罗的海地区的临时部队部署。
美国国防部负责国际事务的助理部长塞莱斯特·沃兰德告诉记者，在波兰长期驻军将是帮助北约应对变化的安全局势的关键环境因为俄罗斯的入侵。美国提供了北约的大部分军事力量。
波兰总统安杰伊·杜达在推特上表示，美国军事指挥机构的永久存在是一个“极其重要的决定”，也是一个“我们一直在等待的决定”
美国官员强调，永久基地只适用于总部单位，而不是作战部队，因此符合北约和俄罗斯1997年的协议，其中北约同意不在东欧永久部署作战部队，因为它旨在在冷战后的环境中建立更具建设性的关系。
拜登派往罗马尼亚和波罗的海地区的作战部队是轮流部署的，而不是永久性的，以遵守该协议。
拜登的国家安全委员会发言人约翰·柯比(John Kirby)说，“没有与莫斯科就这些变化进行沟通，也没有要求这样做。”。
拜登周二抵达峰会后宣布，美国将在西班牙罗塔的海军基地增加两艘驱逐舰，使总数达到六艘。
拜登预测，本周的会议将成为一次“创造历史的峰会”，因为各国领导人将批准一项新的战略框架，宣布一系列提高国防开支和能力的措施，并为历史上中立的芬兰和瑞典加入北约扫清道路。
拜登说，俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京认为，在他入侵乌克兰后，北约成员国将会分裂，但得到的回应恰恰相反。
“普京正在寻求欧洲的芬兰化，”拜登说。“你会看到欧洲的北约化。这正是他不想要的，但却是保证欧洲安全需要做的。”
土耳其是最后一个拒绝批准北欧国家加入北约的国家，该国周二晚些时候达成了一项协议，支持它们加入这个30国联盟。
虽然白宫表示美国不是谈判的直接当事方，但一名高级政府官员表示，拜登周二与土耳其总统埃尔多安(Recep tay yip erdoan)进行了交谈，鼓励他为瑞典和芬兰加入扫清道路。
两位领导人周三会面，拜登赞扬埃尔多安支持北约东扩。他们还讨论了出口乌克兰谷物以缓解世界粮食短缺的方法。
“你做得很好，我只想感谢你，”拜登说。
并非北约峰会上的所有对话都涉及欧洲安全。
周三，拜登与出席会议的韩国总统尹苏克耀和日本首相岸田文雄坐在一起，该联盟希望加强其在印度-太平洋地区的关系，并应对来自中国的挑战。
三位领导人讨论了朝鲜的核计划和弹道导弹计划，拜登说，三位领导人对此“深感关切”
拜登称“三边合作”至关重要，并表示这次会议是领导人协调共同回应的机会，因为美国官员表示，这个孤立的国家可能很快会进行另一次核试验。
在周三的领导人晚宴上，拜登与他的两个孙女芬尼根和蔡美诗一起出席，而不是他的妻子吉尔。美国总统把他们介绍给了他的土耳其和西班牙同行。
US boosting military presence in Europe amid Russia threat
MADRID --President Joe Biden said Wednesday the U.S. will significantly expand its military presence in Europe, the latest example of how Russia’s invasion ofUkrainehas reshaped plans for the continent’s security and prompted a reinvestment in NATO.
Among the changes will be a permanent U.S. garrison in Poland, for the first time creating an enduring American foothold on the alliance’s eastern flank. Biden also said the U.S. 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 enhance our force posture in Europe and respond to the changing securityenvironmentas well as strengthening our collective security,” he said during a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the alliance’s annual leaders summit in Madrid.
The dry language belied the dramatic shift under way as the U.S. prepares to keep 100,000 troops in Europe for the “foreseeable future,” up from 80,000 before the war in Ukraine began.
Stoltenberg, who earlier Wednesday said the alliance was facing its biggest challenge since World War II because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, welcomed Biden’s announcement.
“This really demonstrates your decisive leadership and strength in the trans-Atlantic bond,” Stoltenberg said, thanking Biden for “unwavering support from you and from the United States to Ukraine.”
The expanding U.S. military presence is still far short of its numbers during the Cold War, when roughly 300,000 American troops, on average, were stationed in the region. But it signals a renewed focus on European security. And the U.S. announcement is bolstered by other commitments made by allies on the continent.
NATO plans to increase the size of its rapid reaction force from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year. Although the troops would be based in their home countries, they would be ready to deploy further east, where the alliance will stockpile equipment and ammunition.
Max Bergmann, a former State Department official who is director of the Europe Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said this is “a defining year” for the continent and the alliance.
“It’s a hugely significant turning point, and one that historians are going to look back on,” he said.
He described the decision to shift U.S. forces further east as particularly noteworthy.
“We’re going to defend the line,” he said. “We’re not just going to have a tripwire. We’re not going to cede anything.”
Biden said the U.S. would step up its temporary deployments of troops to Romania and the Baltic region, in addition to permanently stationing the U.S. Army V Corps forward command in Poland.
Celeste Wallander, an assistant U.S. secretary of defense for international affairs, told reporters that having a long-term presence in Poland will be key to helping NATO navigate the changed securityenvironmentin Europe caused by Russia’s invasion. The U.S. supplies the bulk of NATO’s military power.
Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, present in Madrid, said on Twitter that the permanent presence of U.S. military command structure was an “extremely important decision” and a “decision that we have been waiting for.”
U.S. officials emphasized that the permanent basing applied only to headquarters units, not combat troops, and was therefore consistent with a 1997 agreement between NATO and Russia in which the alliance agreed not to permanently base combat troops in Eastern Europe as it aimed to build more constructive ties in the post-Cold War environment.
The combat units Biden is sending to Romania and the Baltic region are on rotational deployments, rather than permanent assignment, to remain in compliance with that agreement.
“There has been no communication with Moscow about these changes, nor is there a requirement to do that,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for Biden’s National Security Council.
Biden announced on Tuesday after arriving for the summit that the U.S. would base two additional destroyers at its naval base in Rota, Spain, bringing the total number to six.
Biden predicted that meetings this week would make for a “history-making summit” as leaders were set to approve a new strategic framework, announce a range of steps to boost their defense spending and capabilities, and clear the way for historically neutral Finland and Sweden to join NATO.
Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin thought NATO members would splinter after he invaded Ukraine, but got the opposite response.
“Putin was looking for the Finland-ization of Europe,” Biden said. “You’re gonna get the NATO-ization of Europe. And that’s exactly what he didn’t want, but exactly what needs to be done to guarantee security for Europe.”
Turkey, the last remaining holdout to approve the Nordic countries’ accession into NATO, reached an agreement late Tuesday to support adding them to the 30-nation alliance.
While the White House said the U.S. was not a direct party to the negotiations, a senior administration official said Biden spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday to encourage him to clear the way for Sweden and Finland to join.
The two leaders met Wednesday, and Biden praised Erdoğan for his support of NATO’s enlargement. They also discussed ways to export Ukrainian grain to ease food shortages around the world.
“You’re doing a great job, I just want to thank you,” Biden said.
Not all of the conversations at the NATO summit involved European security.
Biden sat down Wednesday with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who were attending the conference as the alliance looks to strengthen its ties in the Indo-Pacific region and address challenges from China.
The three leaders discussed North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which Biden said the three found “deeply concerning.”
Biden called “trilateral cooperation” essential and said the meeting was an opportunity for the leaders to coordinate a shared response, as U.S. officials say the isolated nation may soon conduct another nuclear test.
At the leaders dinner on Wednesday, Biden attended with two of his granddaughters, Finnegan and Maisy, instead of his wife, Jill. The U.S. president introduced them to his Turkish and Spanish counterparts.
