Trump will reduce US troops in Germany
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will halve the number of American troops in Germany because Berlin is “delinquent” in contributions to NATO and treats the United States “badly” on trade.
Trump told reporters there are 52,000 US soldiers stationed in Germany and he will reduce that number to 25,000.
“It’s a tremendous cost to the United States,” he said. “So we’re removing a number down to, we’re putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers.”
Trump’s numbers were misleading because there are only between 34,000 and 35,000 US soldiers permanently stationed in Germany, according to the Pentagon. Rotation of units means the overall number can only temporarily top 50,000.
However, the US president’s message to Germany, Europe and the US-led NATO alliance was loud and clear.
US troops have been stationed in the geopolitically vital country since the end of World War II.
Trump said he wants to punish what he called Germany’s insufficient payments to NATO and to use the troops’ future as a weapon to support his threats of a trade war with the European Union.
“Germany is delinquent, they’ve been delinquent for years, they owe NATO billions of dollars, and they have to pay it,” he said. “So we’re protecting Germany and they’re delinquent. That doesn’t make sense.”
During a visit to Warsaw yesterday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said his government hasn’t been given details about Washington’s plan. He said that Germany is still waiting to see what exactly the US plan entails.
NATO is also seeking details on Trump’s decision.
“It’s not yet decided how and when this decision will be implemented,” said Secretary-General Stoltenberg on a video news conference yesterday.
Trump has had testy relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the past.
A new strain emerged over the last few weeks when she said no to an invitation for a G7 summit in Washington, citing the lingering coronavirus pandemic, which has sharply restricted international travel.
(Agencies)