Poland suggests 'Fort Trump' as U.S. weighs military base

[webfact]

Poland suggests 'Fort Trump' as U.S. weighs military base

By Jeff Mason

 

U.S. President Donald Trump greets Poland's President Andrzej Duda in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., September 18, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the United States is considering a request from Poland for a permanent U.S. military presence in the fellow NATO country, acknowledging that he shares Poland's concerns about possible Russian aggression.

 

Polish President Andrzej Duda asked Trump for a permanent U.S. base during a White House meeting, offering to name it "Fort Trump," and explaining it would be a bulwark against what he considers a threat from Russia.

 

Trump said he agreed with Duda that Moscow had "acted aggressively" in the region and said the request for a base was under consideration. He said he appreciated Duda's offer to put more than $2 billion into the project.

 

"We're looking at it very seriously, I know Poland likes the idea very much, and it's something that we are considering, yes," Trump told reporters.

 

Moscow expressed concern in May over reports about Poland's request, saying NATO’s expansion towards Russia’s borders undermined stability in Europe.

 

Poland joined NATO in 1999 along with Hungary and the Czech Republic, and since then other former communist states, including Baltic republics bordering Russia, have joined despite Moscow’s strong opposition.

 

Poland has repeatedly requested a permanent U.S. military presence on its soil. The United States currently rotates troops through Poland temporarily but permanently stationing forces there would be expensive because of costs that can include housing for families, schools and hospitals.

 

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. military was studying options with Poland but cautioned that no decisions had been made.

 

"It’s not just about a base. It’s about training ranges, it’s about maintenance facilities at the base, all these kinds of things. There’s a host of details we’ve got to study alongside the Poles,” Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon.

 

Trump and Duda also expressed shared concerns about Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline which they said could make Europe overly reliant on Moscow for energy and expose it to the risks of what Duda called "political blackmail" with shipments.

 

But Trump said the United States was not looking to sanction companies that participated in the project with Russia. "We just think it's very unfortunate for the people of Germany that Germany is paying billions and billions of dollars a year for their energy to Russia," he said.

 

In a joint statement released later on Tuesday, after the press conference, Trump and Duda said they will continue coordinating efforts "to counter energy projects that threaten our mutual security, such as Nord Stream 2."

 

Trump also said the United States was considering a visa waiver program for Poland.

 

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Steve Holland, Phillip Stewart and Lisa Lambert; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alistair Bell and Grant McCool)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-09-19

[Thian]

I foresee an internal was in Europe before one with the Russians.

[Boon Mee]

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

[mamypoko]

Camp Bone Spurs.  

Avoid the chill from the draft.

[PatOngo]

Fort Trump? If this goes ahead, hopefully, Trump will be voted out of office by the time it's finished, so an appropriate name change could well be on the cards...………….Fort Kanye???

[dcutman]

Close most of the bases in Germany and move to friendlier more strategic countries.

[ballpoint]

Call it Fort McCain.

[Tug]

Man does that guy know how to suck up!     Mamypoko you beat me to the punch!! Most exclent 

 

[sebastion]

Call it Fort McCain.

Prison camp needs be named after him.
Guantonomo McCain.

Sent from my EVA-L19 using Tapatalk

[alanrchase]

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

Yes, the Polish President really gets it. Unfortunately you still don't seem to get it.

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, PatOngo said:

Fort Trump? If this goes ahead, hopefully, Trump will be voted out of office by the time it's finished, so an appropriate name change could well be on the cards...………….Fort Kanye???

As part of the deal, Trump will want to build a golf course and resort on the base. 

[zaphod reborn]

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

What a hypocrite!!!  Trump has taken the position that troops should be removed from Germany and Korea.  Why stage troops in Poland?  How about defending Ukraine and trying to pressure Russia to withdraw from Crimea and Georgia?  One of Trump's biggest faults is that he has no agenda.  He is a day-trader and only interested in grabbing today's headlines.

[attrayant]

I'm in favor of this as long as it's painted bright orange.

 

[cycolista]

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

Generally these things are named posthumously so in that case I'm all for it. 

[abrahamzvi]

4 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

The Poles may call a military base whatever they want, but they shouldn't take the 2 Billion US$, they intend investing in the base from the EU. Particularly not from a country they are criticizing  - Germany. 

[Silurian]

I have an idea of where they can park the first gold tank.

 

[candide]

Soon to be known as "Fort Moron". ?

[Benmart]

3 hours ago, zaphod reborn said:

What a hypocrite!!!  Trump has taken the position that troops should be removed from Germany and Korea.  Why stage troops in Poland?  How about defending Ukraine and trying to pressure Russia to withdraw from Crimea and Georgia?  One of Trump's biggest faults is that he has no agenda.  He is a day-trader and only interested in grabbing today's headlines.

Please share your military, political and business experience with this forum. Your keyboard capabilities are certainly revealing.

[Benmart]

Permanent and temporary US Military installations are not named after living persons. Those taking aim at President Trump are clearly poor shots, but their own agendas are very clear.

[zaphod reborn]

1 hour ago, Benmart said:

Please share your military, political and business experience with this forum. Your keyboard capabilities are certainly revealing.

If you have read my posts to know enough about my keyboard abilities, you would know that I am a lawyer and have worked in Bangkok for over 10 years as a legal/HR/business specialist. I also have a BA in Political Science.  Am I qualfied to opine on these topics on TV?

[Sir Dude]

The Poles are smart here. They worry a lot, rightly so about Russia and the historical "previous" of the Russkies, and having a permanent US base there in Poland would go a long way to allaying their fears somewhat...so, best way to do it is appeal to Trump's vanity with "Fort Trump" lol, good move and he'll love it. 

[Redline]

6 hours ago, Tug said:

Man does that guy know how to suck up!     Mamypoko you beat me to the punch!! Most exclent 

 

I noticed the was walking funny.  Melania shut DT down long ago

[Redline]

How much will DT make?  Apparently, there is only one property that licensed his name left

Edited September 19, 2018 by Redline

[Tailwagsdog]

6 hours ago, abrahamzvi said:

The Poles may call a military base whatever they want, but they shouldn't take the 2 Billion US$, they intend investing in the base from the EU. Particularly not from a country they are criticizing  - Germany. 

Not so long ago Poland escaped the legacy of being carved up between Germany & Russia so they probably would like to avoid a repitition of history, it wasn't a nice time.

[JAG]

13 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

Yes.

 

Take the time to look up the now largely obsolete colloquial English meaning of the noun "trump".

 

Is the Polish President indulging in a "right royal (well all right - presidential) piss take"?

 

Maybe he does indeed "get it"?

Edited September 19, 2018 by JAG

[farcanell]

7 hours ago, Benmart said:

Permanent and temporary US Military installations are not named after living persons. Those taking aim at President Trump are clearly poor shots, but their own agendas are very clear.

 

Poland suggests 'Fort Trump' as U.S. weighs military base.

 

?.... I bet their agenda is getting their grubby polish hands on US money .... trump trump trump it up enough, and they will surely succeed. Trump might even print some extra cash for the occasion. ?

 

 

[heybruce]

On 9/18/2018 at 9:02 PM, Boon Mee said:

That is a terrific idea to name the military base there in Poland - Fort Trump. 

The Polish President really gets it! 

Of course he gets it, all world leaders get it--if you want to manipulate the insecure, immature, clueless Trump, you appeal to his ego.

[bendejo]

I'm all for it.  Name all these things for him, and then after all this is over and each thing is renamed it will add to his disgrace, should he still be alive.