Republican and Democratic lawmakers slammed the Pentagon on November 4 for not briefing them on national security issues and said at times top defense officials appeared to be undermining US president Donald Trump’s own policies, in a rare bipartisan show of frustration with the administration, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, former US negotiator for Ukraine Kurt Volker told Euronews that the announcement of US troop downsizing in Romania was “not the message the US needs to be sending to Putin right now.”
During the more than two-hour-long hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, lawmakers said senior Pentagon officials were unresponsive to questions and concerns from Congress.
One area that came under scrutiny was communications over US plans to cut the number of troops present on Europe’s eastern flank in Romania – a decision that was criticised by top Republican lawmakers when it was announced last week.
Last week, the United States announced an infantry brigade stationed mainly in Romania would redeploy to its Kentucky home base. The unit of nearly 800 troops will not be replaced. The decision taken by Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth has reignited fears about a troop pullback away from Europe by the US administration, even as Russia continues its war of aggression against Ukraine.
Former US negotiator for Ukraine Kurt Volker told Euronews that the announcement was “not the message the US needs to be sending to Putin right now.”
“I don’t think the White House would have wanted this; it’s just not coordinated very well,” Volker said, speaking from his home near Washington.
The Trump administration has been explicit about its geostrategic repositioning, with a greater focus on theatres in the western hemisphere and the South China Sea.
However, the spectre of a sudden, uncoordinated, and drastic troop drawdown by the US, which would leave Europe’s Eastern flank vulnerable, remains a concern for America’s NATO allies.
While the figure of 800 withdrawn soldiers is relatively low against the approximately 80-90 thousand troops remaining, the decision conveys a political message to the world about US intentions for European security, Volker said.
iulian@romania-insider.com
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