The United States government announced the measure after tension with allies and criticism from Trump for lack of support in the offensive against Iran
Germany and NATO defended, this Saturday (2), the reinforcement of Europe’s defense autonomyafter the United States announced the upcoming withdrawal of five thousand soldiers deployed in the German country.
The measure announced on Friday by the Pentagon represents a new setback in transatlantic relationsseverely deteriorated since Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
The number represents around 15% of the 35,000 American soldiers present in the European country, whose Defense Minister minimized the matter.
“It was expected that US troops would be withdrawn from Europe, and also from Germany”, commented Boris Pistorius, in a statement sent to AFP by his office.
“We Europeans have to take greater responsibility for our security,” added the minister.
According to the Pentagon spokesmanthe withdrawal should be completed “in a period of approximately six to 12 months”.
Distancing from Europe
Washington made the announcement after an exchange of statements between the two powers, in a context of President Donald Trump’s criticism of his European partners for not supporting him in his military campaign against Iran.
The head of the German government, Friedrich Merz, angered the American president on Monday by declaring that Washington has “no strategy” in Iran and that the Islamic republic “humiliated” the first world power.
“He thinks it’s OK for Iran to get the nuclear weapon. He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about,” Trump responded on Tuesday.
NATO said this Saturday that it is “working with the United States to understand the details of its decision on the military device in Germany”, wrote its spokeswoman, Allison Hart, on the social network X.
“This adjustment highlights the need for Europe to continue investing more in Defense and assume a greater part of its responsibility for our shared security,” added the spokeswoman.
Since the beginning of its second term, the administration Trump is hostile to his traditional European allieswhich the president accuses of not investing enough in his security.
The rapprochement between Washington and Moscow in the midst of the war in Ukraine and Trump’s threats to take Greenland from Denmark, a NATO ally, led several European capitals to bet on greater autonomy.
In this sense, Hart highlighted as “advance” the commitment adopted last year by the European members of the Alliance – with the exception of Spain – to invest 5% of their respective GDPs in Defense, as Trump demanded.
Germany, key player for the USA
Pistorius argued, in any case, that the American presence in Germany is “in the interest” of both parties, since these troops serve for “collective deterrence” in the face of Russia’s perceived threat.
The minister also highlighted that the United States uses its military bases in Germany to defend “its interests in terms of security policy in Africa and the Middle East”, including Iran.
Likewise, and in line with the Trump administration’s demand that Europe do more for its own defense, the minister recalled that Germany is strengthening its Army, after decades of underfunding.
Berlin has the declared objective of confronting Russia and reducing its dependence on the United States in defense matters, in the face of a Trump who calls into question his country’s commitment to Europe’s security.
In 2020, during his first term, the Republican already threatened to reduce the number of American soldiers in Germany to 25,000, considering that this country spent very little on Defense. His successor, Democrat Joe Biden, did not implement the reduction plan.
Among the various American bases in Germany, Ramstein has particular importance for American mobilizations and operations in the Middle East.
The United States also stores nuclear weapons at Büchel in the west.
In Stuttgart is the American command for Europe and Africa, while Grafenwöhr, in the Bavaria region, is home to a huge training camp, and Landstuhl has an important medical center for the American Army.
*AFP
