The Pentagon has cited the reason for the withdrawal of troops from Germany — NYT
The U.S. has stated that the decision to reduce its military presence in Germany is linked to Berlin’s stance on Iran.
This was reported by The New York Times.
As is known, on Friday, Pentagon officials announced that they are withdrawing 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany and redeploying them to the U.S. and other foreign countries. This will be done over the course of 6 to 12 months.
But as the NYT writes, the U.S. Department of Defense—especially during both of Donald Trump’s presidential terms—has been considering the possibility of reducing its military presence in Germany for several years.
At the same time, high-ranking Pentagon officials have privately indicated that they want this move to be viewed “as punishment for Germany” for its comments regarding the U.S. war against Iran, which angered Trump.
In addition to the Germany case, the U.S. Department of Defense is scrapping a plan to deploy a missile-equipped artillery unit in Europe. This refers to a plan developed under former President Joe Biden.
According to sources, all these steps will allow U.S. troops in Europe to return to 2022 levels, which were in place before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
As a reminder, the Pentagon is withdrawing some U.S. troops from Germany.
Earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that Washington could reduce its military presence not only in Germany but also in other European countries, including Italy and Spain.
Donald Trump publicly criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, stating that he should focus on the war in Ukraine and his own country’s domestic issues, rather than on the issue of Iran. The U.S. president made this statement on his social media account, sharply assessing the German leader’s effectiveness.
