A former Polish president, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, commented on Andrzej Duda’s proposal to raise the defense budget to 3 percent of GDP. He noted that assessing the size of military expenditure within NATO is challenging yet essential. The idea, he said, is to be better armed and better trained, and this requires money but should be implemented gradually.
President Duda told the National Security Council on Monday that during his White House visit and a subsequent stop at NATO headquarters in Brussels, he planned to propose a joint stance by NATO members. His aim was to shift the alliance’s target from two percent to three percent of GDP for defense spending. He described this as a floor below which it would be unwise to fall.
Kwaśniewski was asked about Duda’s proposal on RMF FM on Tuesday. He acknowledged the difficulty of the proposal but affirmed its correctness. He emphasized the need for stronger armed forces, better training, and the accompanying costs, urging that steps be taken gradually.
When asked about Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s remark that postwar times had ended and prewar times had begun, Kwaśniewski called it a powerful and dramatic statement. He stressed the importance of recognizing that Europe’s and Poland’s security has deteriorated and that the safety situation is not as favorable as it was five, ten, or fifteen years ago.
Kwaśniewski also commented on remarks attributed to US President Joe Biden regarding not increasing the number of American troops in Poland. He underscored that the presence of American forces reinforces commitments to those stationed in Poland and added that the exact numbers should be determined by military leaders based on operational needs, not solely by political considerations.
He suggested that whether the figure is six thousand, eight thousand, or ten thousand, such decisions are primarily for the commanders to decide, as they must determine the actual requirement to fulfill assigned tasks.
Kwaśniewski argued that Biden’s statements should be understood in the context of election dynamics. He observed that Americans may be reluctant to send their soldiers abroad because of the political implications and that proposals to expand the American military presence in Europe are unlikely to gain electoral advantage in the United States.
Obligations of NATO countries
NATO members are bound by the North Atlantic Treaty to maintain and develop credible defense capabilities. The alliance recognizes that each country should spend at least 2 percent of its GDP on defense, though several nations currently fall short. Poland allocates the largest share of its GDP to defense among its peers, about 4.23 percent, followed by the United States at roughly 3.5 percent. Beyond the two percent threshold, other allies such as the Baltic states and the United Kingdom exceed it, while France, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Italy, and Canada have not met the target. Germany reported reaching the 2 percent threshold this year according to statements attributed to Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
Attribution: wPolityce
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Source: wPolityce