 [The National Interest] The Law and Justice (PiS) party in Poland has been receiving a lot of international press for clashing with the EU. But one of the more interesting, but not as reported, aspects of their foreign policy is increased military spending and reformation of the Polish military. One of the centerpieces of the PiS defense policy is the creation of the new branch of the Polish military, the Territorial Defense Forces (Wojska Obrony Terytorialnej, WOT). The force is largely oriented as a counter to forms of hybrid warfare by Russia and draws upon the Ukrainian and Baltic structures and means of organization of such forces. However, the WOT has proven to be a lightning rod for controversy domestically, due to the apparent priority given to it for personnel and equipment. |
