The US Administration and President Donald Trump are considering removing troops from Germany’s bases, a move that would significantly alter the post-World War II system of power.
Currently, the USA have between 80,000 and 100,000 troops in Europe. The biggest contingent is in Germany, with more than 36,000 troops confirmed. Following Germany, Italy has 12,000 troops, and the United Kingdom has 10,000. In addition, around 100 US nuclear bombs are deployed in European bases. Also, the US European Command (EUCOM) and the US African Command (AFRICOM) are both headquartered at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. At the same time, the Landstuhl Medical Centre is the major medical hub for casualties of war.
Despite all this presence, last Friday the Pentagon said it would redeploy 5,000 of those troops from Germany. At the same time, Trump told reporters the day after that the number would be much larger, without elaborating.
The decision by the Pentagon follows a pattern of the Trump administration diminishing and criticising the presence of US troops in Europe. Trump himself often touted the possibility of withdrawing all troops from Europe. In a National Defence Strategy released in January, his administration openly called on Europe to take care of its own defence.
These comments have not received much support in the US. Last March, the American general Alexus Grynkewich, commander in Europe of NATO and US forces, explained the crucial importance of US troops in Europe: “It is having capabilities in Europe, munitions in Europe that allow us to help U.S. Africa Command to target terrorists in Africa, or to help U.S. Central Command as they execute Operation Epic Fury.”
Even the redeployment of the 5,000 troops has been met with criticism. Two Republican leaders from the armed services committees of the US Congress and Senate said that withdrawing troops sends “the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin“. The two, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama, proposed a redeployment from Germany to Eastern Europe instead.
In Germany, the decision to remove US troops strengthened the government’s resolve to push forward with its expansion plans. German Chancellor Friederich Merz plans to raise Germany’s military personnel to 260,000 from the current 180,000. Commenting on the redeployment, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told news agency dpa that Europe must work for its own security and confirmed that the expansion of the German armed force, the Bundeswehr, is going steadily.
