Polish Minister of Defense: Two American divisions are needed for successful defense of the country
In an interview with wPolytice, the Polish Minister of National Defense, Antoni Macierewicz, has said that the country needs more US military for its protection.
"From the point of view of the necessary defense of Poland, there should be an order of magnitude more, definitely more than two divisions," Macierewicz answered to the journalist's question about how much US military Poland requires. One division in the United States, on average, could include nearly 15,000 military personnel.
Macierewicz added that his words "do not mean that we have discussed these numbers, or that this issue is under consideration."
He also commented on the information that Poland is increasing its spending on the army. These funds are "necessary" to "confront threats," said Macierewicz. Additional funding will be spent on upgrading the SPG ( self-propelled gun) Crab and the Vistula missile defense system.
In September, the Polish parliament approved an increase in defense spending. The document prescribes an increase defense spending to 2.1% of GDP by 2020, and to at least 2.5% of GDP in 2020. NATO would therefore not require the countries in the bloc to spend more than 2% on defense.
Macierewicz then explained the expansion of army spending as responding to "threats from the East." Russia "is using force to achieve its political goals," he said.