Aleksander Kazak of the University of Gdańsk in northern Poland said nearly a week of discussion about the American military presence in the country had created "an enormous overload of information," which opponents of NATO used for disinformation and to create "an aura of mistrust and conflict."
The debate followed reports last Friday that the Pentagon had canceled plans for the rotational deployment of 4,000 US troops to Poland.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Tuesday that he had discussed the matter with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He said there had been no decision to reduce American involvement in Poland.
"We are pursuing a rational, calm policy of cooperation, not through emotion or one-day events, but strategically, and no information noise that sometimes arises will disrupt this relationship," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Poland hosts thousands of US troops as part of NATO's deterrence posture on the alliance's eastern flank. That presence has taken on added significance since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
'Playing on two pianos'
Jakub Stefaniak, deputy head of the Polish Prime Minister's Office, told reporters on Wednesday that the US presence in Poland would not be reduced.
"This is very important because it shows how important a partner Poland is for American today,” Stefaniak said during the Lublin Forum 2026, an international conference on Russian aggression held in eastern Poland.
Stefaniak said Poland’s foreign policy was working by "playing on two pianos," combining a strong alliance with the United States with efforts to modernize and finance European armed forces.
Grzegorz Gil, director of the Institute of Central Europe, a government analytical and research institution based in the eastern Polish city of Lublin, said Poland’s strategic culture "cannot rely solely on the guarantees of a military superpower."
He said Poland also needed an adequate and economically justified anti-drone shield tailored to the threat from Russia.
'Pivot to Asia'
Kazak said statements and actions by US President Donald Trump were "deeply worrying" and were being exploited by Russian propaganda. He added, however, that such reports should be approached without emotion.
He said Trump’s words should be distinguished from policy and could be part of the US president’s image-building campaign.
Kazak argued that the Trump administration’s approach follows a 2025 US national security strategy that continues a longer American shift toward the Pacific, begun under President Barack Obama.
That policy, often called the "pivot to Asia," places greater emphasis on the Far East and the potential for conflict with China.
"Europe is becoming less important for the Americans, although Poland remains one of their more important allies," Kazak said. He added that the shift should push Poland to strengthen its own armed forces, develop its defense industry, and support cooperation in Europe.
He pointed to Ukraine as an example of a country where both state companies and private firms are involved in developing the defense sector.
Kazak said Poland should support local defense companies and startups because such measures would directly affect the country’s security. “I would not count on, or close myself off to, relations with the Americans alone,” he said.
The Lublin Forum 2026, titled "Russian Aggression: Roots and Forms," was held this week at the Lublin Conference Centre.
More than 40 experts and academics from 20 countries discussed Russian imperial policy, memory politics, information warfare, the Global South and Europe's current geopolitical challenges.