Speaking to Polish media last week, Macierewicz insisted that the increased US presence would not contradict existing security agreements between NATO and Russia. "Undoubtedly, two divisions isn't so much. It's just as much as we need," he said.
Speaking to Sputnik, retired Polish Vice Admiral Marek Toczek said that such remarks by top US and Polish officials, and the fact of the already existing and growing US military presence in Poland, cause him serious concern.
"This is not [a policy for] the formation of good-neighborly relations in the region. This is a policy which leads to confrontation. This land, and the Poles especially, have a great deal of experience in terms of the outcome of such games," the officer warned.
"The absence of a sovereign foreign policy in the region leads to a situation where Poland again becomes an object, not a subject, of geopolitics. And this is concerning," Toczek added.
"The Americans have problems in Western Europe, particularly Germany. I think that they want to shift the center of gravity to Polish territory and the Baltic states. From the perspective of their interests, there may be sense in this. But from the perspective of Poland and the Baltic states, all of this will come back to bite us later," the officer concluded.
