A task force of US security experts has called for a beefed-up American military presence in Poland, according to media reports.

The experts with the Washington-based think tank Atlantic Council warned in a study that NATO forces in Poland and the Baltic states could be overrun if attacked by Russia, the American military newspaper Stars and Stripes has reported.

The Atlantic Council study says that “a determined Russian conventional attack, especially if mounted with little warning, could defeat these forward-deployed NATO and U.S. forces in a relatively short period of time, before reinforcements could be brought to bear.”

The study, entitled “Permanent Deterrence: Enhancements to the U.S. Military Presence in North Central Europe,” lays out a plan to counter such scenarios, Stars and Stripes reported on its stripes.com website.

The Atlantic Council experts recommended enhancements in Poland "because its size and geographic location make it a key staging area for most NATO efforts to defend allied territory in the three Baltic states."

The study was authored by Gen. Philip Breedlove, the former head of US troops in Europe who also served as NATO Supreme Allied Commander until retiring in 2016, and former NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow.

It comes as Congress is examining whether the United States has sufficient forces in Europe to deter Russia, while the Pentagon is considering a USD 2 billion offer from Poland to fund a permanent military base in the country, Stars and Stripes reported.

Błażej Spychalski, a spokesman for the Polish president, said at the end of September that Warsaw wanted to spend about USD 2 billion to build infrastructure for American soldiers in Poland, including “housing, educational facilities, medical facilities.”

The Washington Post said in an analysis last week that talks about a permanent US military presence in Poland "appear to have moved on from the idea of one or several major bases ... to a more hybrid approach that could result in US personnel being based in existing buildings across the country."

Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Saturday he hoped the United States would increase its military presence in his country, reiterating previous statements by officials in Warsaw.

(gs)

Source: stripes.com, onet.pl, wpolityce.pl