Trump move to punish Germany could hurt US
After more than a year of thinlyveiled threats to start pulling US troops out of Germany unless Berlin increases its defence spending, President Donald Trump is planning to cut the US military contingent by more than 25 per cent.
About 34,500 American troops are stationed in Germany — 50,000 including civilian Department of Defence employees — and the plan Trump reportedly signed off on last week envisions reducing active-duty personnel to 25,000 by September, with further cuts possible.
But as details of the stillunannounced plan trickle out, there’s growing concerns it will do more to harm the US’ own global military readiness and the Nato alliance than punish Germany.
The decision was not discussed with Germany or other Nato members, and Congress was not officially informed — prompting a letter from 22 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee urging a rethink.
“The threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that signs of a weakened US commitment to Nato will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism,” Representative Mac Thornberry of Texas wrote in a letter to Trump. Senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed Trump’s move as “another favour” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump’s claims that removing troops will punish Germany overlooks the fact that American troops are no longer primarily there for the country’s defence, said retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, who commanded US Army Europe from 2014 until 2017.
“The troops and capabilities that the US has deployed in Europe are not there to specifically defend Germany, they are part of our contribution to overall collective stability and security in Europe,” said Hodges, now a strategic expert with the Centre for European Policy Analysis, a Washington-based institute.
American facilities include Ramstein Air Base, a critical hub for operations in the Mideast and Africa and headquarters to the US Air Forces in Europe and Africa; the Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre, which has saved the lives of countless Americans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan; and the Stuttgart headquarters of both the US European Command and the US Africa Command. There’s also the Wiesbaden headquarters of US Army Europe, the Spangdahlem F-16 fighter base and the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Nato’s largest training facility in Europe.
“What’s lost in all this is the benefit to the United States of having forward deployed capabilities that we can use not only for deterrence . . . but for employment elsewhere,” he said.
“The base in Ramstein is not there for the US to defend Europe. It’s there as a forward base for us to be able to fly into Africa, the Middle East.”
The base in Ramstein is not there for the US to defend Europe. It’s there as a forward base for us to be able to fly into Africa, the Middle East.
Ben Hodges, retired US Army Lieutenant General