The resizing of the US military contingent deployed to Romania has triggered a wave of indignation and patriotic panic attacks among local pro-Russian propaganda outlets, generously peppered with disinformation and outlandish allegations.
Journalists Robert Turcescu and Ionuț Cristache start to panic: “We’re screwed!”
Leading the charge, as always, is Robert Turcescu, a former and current journalist, former MP, and, according to his own description, a former undercover lieutenant-colonel with the Military Intelligence Directorate. Today, he’s a staunch sovereignist and defender of patriots allegedly oppressed by globalist elites. “Friends, we’re screwed!”, he warns dramatically, without providing an explanation, although he insists on introducing himself to strangers as a journalist.
Another valiant member of the sovereignist media corps, Ionuț Cristache (affectionately nicknamed “Sărmăluță” - Little Cabbage Roll) announced that “the boys have sorted out the partnership with the USA”, something he claims he’s “been saying for months”. Similarly, in the same journalistic vein short of pertinent explanations and particularly concrete evidence, he fails to explain who these “boys” actually are and why the partnership with the Americans needed sorting.
Slightly more grounded in “facts”, Bogdan Tiberiu Iacob hints that the appointment of Oana Gheorghiu as Deputy Prime Minister prompted the Americans’ decision, even though the Defense Minister confirmed that the Ministry had been notified about this decision a day before Prime Minister Bolojan made the announcement.
From George Simion and Călin Georgescu to Adrian Năstase: the sovereignists and the politically oppressed knew
Unsurprisingly, omnipresent TikToker and AUR president George Simion seized this opportunity to prove he’s thoroughly absorbed the lessons passed down by his spiritual mentor in lunacy, Călin Georgescu. Simion fatherly scolds us, reminding how “I told you the moment they took us out of the Visa Waiver program, that the next step is troop withdrawal”. Capitalizing on the "madman’s” silence, and borrowing a dash of his messianic flair, the former ultras leader offers hope and a solution: “We are the only ones who can unblock the relationship with the USA”, presumably referring to himself.
This issue couldn’t escape the keen and educated analysis of former Prime Minister Adrian Năstase. He begins by admitting that the resizing of US military forces in Romania was “largely inevitable”, but dismisses the prosaic reality in his analysis after a few lines, turning the military presence resizing into a “withdrawal of American troops” and the “absence of that American security umbrella”. Năstase too is sure not to miss out on a chance to offer a solution: China. “In this new context, relaunching relations with China becomes not only opportune, but necessary”, he proclaims, still in the afterglow of last month’s warm welcome in Beijing, which he says could bring “significant economic and technological benefits.”
Joining the “we knew it” choir are connoisseurs of the backchannels of US foreign policy, each voice trying to prove who called it first. Anca Alexandrescu, never one to forget what drives her ratings on Realitatea TV, reminds viewers: “Călin Georgescu said it, and we’ve been saying it for nearly a year: this was bound to happen”. Meanwhile, România TV, rival in both disinformation and fines from the Audio-Visual Council, blasts that the USA is withdrawing its troops from Romania, a decision that “shakes NATO’s Eastern Flank.” In truth, the number of American servicemen no longer assigned to Romania is under one thousand. But that doesn’t stop Sebastian Ghiță’s TV station from claiming that “the Trump administration is about to withdraw thousands of troops from Romania”. The overinflated, Russian-style exaggeration is happily echoed by Gândul, where “definitely not propagandists” like Marius Tucă and Ion Cristoiu solemnly report, trying to sweeten the pot, that “the US is expected to pull out thousands of SOLDIERS from the Black Sea region”. To be fair, a few paragraphs later, the article admits that “a US Army battalion ranges from several hundred to roughly 1,000 soldiers”. But these is just fine print for those rare souls who actually read past the headlines, instead of getting their news from TikTok.
A more “unique” take on the American decision comes from former Jiu Valley miners’ leader Ștefan Adrian Jurca, convicted for financial scams and self-proclaimed English “cover reader”. Thanks to that skill, he claims to have discovered, nearly a year ago, that president Trump’s decision was inspired by “American Conservatives”. At the time, Jurca was still cozying up to AUR, after the Social Democrats (PSD) had refused to nominate him for the position of Mayor of Petroșani.
The Americans are leaving. Aren’t they?
If we just mute the propaganda for a couple of moments, we will notice that the US military presence in Romania is not disappearing following today’s announcement by the National Defense Ministry. American forces remain unchanged at the bases in Deveselu and Câmpia Turzii, with the only modification occurring at Mihail Kogălniceanu base, where the rotational brigade will not be redeployed for a new cycle, as announced by Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu. In fact, Moșteanu adds, as sovereignist warriors mourn the "colonizers’" departure, the brigade in question has left Romania nearly a month ago. The American soldiers have been abroad, carrying out exercises in foreign, unfriendly countries like Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria, countries hit equally by the Pentagon decision, a fact sovereignists have left out.
Back on topic, strategic capabilities such as the Aegis Ashore missile defense system at Deveselu remain fully operational, and the Câmpia Turzii air base continues to serve as a key hub for Allied air operations. Furthermore, Moșteanu announced that the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base will keep expanding, with investments expected to exceed €2 billion.
The sovereigntists’ accusations of incompetence against Bucharest’s leaders are laughable, especially considering those same groups fiercely oppose equipping the Romanian army with modern (and yes, expensive!) combat gear. The very notion that the American administration couldn’t care less about Romania is absurd, and was quickly contradicted by US diplomacy through the voice of its ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, who said that the Romanian-American partnership is "stronger than ever", and that "the United States remains committed to Romania – as a trusted NATO Ally, vital strategic partner, and a driving force for security in Europe. Our strong presence in and enduring commitment to Europe remain steadfast, including support for Eastern Sentry”. Let aside the diplomatic phrasing, the mere fact that the US felt compelled to say something about us shows that, at least in geographical terms, our country matters and holds interest for Washington’s global strategy.
Nothing new under the sun: the Americans have been talking about pivoting to Asia as early as 2011
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw part of its troops deployed in Eastern Europe, including Romania, is no surprise, although some believe themselves to be more visionary and informed than others. Reports of US force resizing in Europe, focusing on the Indo-Pacific region and especially China, have circulated in the public space since spring. Early April, American media discussed that the Pentagon was considering cutting up to 10,000 troops in the region to concentrate military resources in zones deemed “priority interests”. The units considered for withdrawal (both then and now) are part of the 20,000 “additional” troops deployed by the Biden administration in 2022 to strengthen the defense of countries bordering Ukraine after the Russian invasion.
NATO announced that “adjustments to the posture of US forces are not unusual”, and even after this adjustment, the American military presence in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years. The European Commission conveyed that the US decision does not impact the EU’s projects for Eastern Flank defense, and that Europe is already on track towards achieving greater autonomy in defense resources. It’s also worth noting that the discussion about shifting American resources to the Asia-Pacific region isn’t new at all: the first to announce the so-called “pivot” was Barack Obama in 2011!
But let’s go back to today’s sovereignist theatrics: Romania will still “enjoy” the presence of thousands of American troops for at least another nine months. Earlier this week, the US Army announced that command of its Romanian mission has been transferred to the 3rd Infantry Division, tasked with strengthening NATO’s Eastern Flank. This division will lead about 3,000 troops carrying out various missions across Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria. Eventually, some of them won’t return to Romania, bringing US troop levels back to roughly what they were before 2022, namely approximately one thousand servicemen.
What remains truly puzzling is the following: after years of complaining about Romania being a “Western colony”, supposedly under foreign military rule, our cardboard sovereignists are now mourning the departure of American soldiers, the very same soldiers who never really knew whom they were protecting us against, because, “patriots” argue, Russia never intended to attack our country.
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