Trump orders big U.S. troop cut in Germany, official says

By Steve Holland

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a statement on the ongoing protests over racial inequality in the wake of the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 1, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

 

BANGOR, Maine (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the military to remove 9,500 troops from Germany, a senior U.S. official said on Friday, a move likely to raise concerns in Europe about the U.S. commitment to the continent.

 

The move would reduce U.S. troops numbers in Germany to 25,000, from the 34,500 currently there.

 

The official, who did not want to be identified, said the move was the result of months of work by America's top military officer, General Mark Milley, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and had nothing to do with tensions between Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who thwarted Trump's plan to host a G7 meeting this month.

 

A second senior administration official said the 9,500 troops would be sent elsewhere, some to Poland, some to other allied countries, while some would return home.

 

This official said there was less need for the large contingent in Germany due to overall increased defense spending by the U.S.-led NATO military alliance.

 

The second official said the change was ordered in a memorandum signed recently by Trump's national security adviser, Robert O’Brien. The official said the United States started working on the plan in September and had just now got the pieces in place.

 

Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on Senate Armed Services Committee, said the move was "petty and preposterous."

Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the move was a "huge gift" for Russia.

 

"With one fell swoop, Trump is showing once again that our alliances are nothing more than a political plaything," Weiss said on Twitter.

 

The White House said it had no announcements but Trump "continually reassesses the best posture for the United States military forces."

 

In the statement, White House National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said the United States remained committed to working with Germany on defense and other issues.

 

The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is the latest twist in relations between Berlin and Washington, which have often been strained during Trump’s presidency. Trump has pressed Germany to raise defense spending and accused Berlin of being a "captive" of Russia due to its energy reliance.

 

About 17,000 U.S. civilian employees support U.S. troops in Germany. It is believed the United States also has nuclear warheads there.

 

(Reporting by Steve Holland and Idrees Ali, Writing by Eric Beech and David Brunnstrom, Editing by Nick Zieminski, Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-08

 

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51 minutes ago, webfact said:

Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on Senate Armed Services Committee, said the move was "petty and preposterous."

Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said the move was a "huge gift" for Russia.

Oh Puleeze

 

This is a good move & this type of draw down should continue at many of the USA's military bases worldwide

 

Military budget has been insane for decades & needs to be reduced.

If countries like Germany feel threatened <sic> by Russia then they can hire or increase their security as they feel needs to be

................ON THEIR DIME !!

 

For this Democrat to try & turn this into a claim of a  "huge gift" for Russia is pure Political BS

 

 

Edited June 7, 20206 yr by meechai

Yes, lets remove all US troops from all over the world certainly tired supporting all these weak non appreciative countries who hate the US and would spit in their face.

 

I am sure the Chinese and North Korea have many troops available and will actually pay these countries to offer professional protection and security services.

Good luck.

maybe they are being moved to the UK ????

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on Senate Armed Services Committee, said the move was "petty and preposterous."

Considering Democrats claim to be the "peace party" that's a bit much.

 

It's time Europe defended itself instead of depending on the US to do so, so good job Mt Trump. He should withdraw all the front line troops and just leave a stockpile of weapons in the event of active hostilities. Let the Germans, Italians, Greeks etc fund their own front line troops.

A post with a trolling image using a foreign language has been removed.

Bailed the Euros out of two world wars. Enough is enough. 

 

MAGA 

11 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Bailed the Euros out of two world wars. Enough is enough. 

 

MAGA 

Um, the euro Germans and Italians against some other Euros. We Euros would like to thanks the US for turning up late twice and wish they’d stop trying to start a Third World War. We’d be happy to defend ourselves as we’ve been busy making friends for 70 years, not making enemies. ????????‍♂️

14 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Bailed the Euros out of two world wars. Enough is enough. 

 

MAGA 

Guess ya want to fight another one?personally I trust the smarts of isenhower gen marshal Churchill those guys .not some failed real estate salesman you have China pushing russa pushing and trump surrendering leaving allies in the lurch no sir I disagree and come November if we still have a democracy it will change

 

46 minutes ago, Tug said:

Guess ya want to fight another one?personally I trust the smarts of isenhower gen marshal Churchill those guys .not some failed real estate salesman you have China pushing russa pushing and trump surrendering leaving allies in the lurch no sir I disagree and come November if we still have a democracy it will change

Fear mongering plain and simple

 

You think Russia or China in this day & age would attack a sovereign country? You really think Russia wants to invade Europe?

 

Too much TV ...step back...This is not the same world Churchill, Eisenhower or others from the Military Industrial Complex were from

 

PS: Elections never left the Republic of the United States of America & the USA is not a Democracy but a Constitutional Republic thank you very much

Edited June 8, 20206 yr by meechai

43 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

Bailed the Euros out of two world wars. Enough is enough. 

 

MAGA 

I agree. Europe has had enough of America anyway. They realise that the USA is never going to be 'great' again.

"You've had your time, son".

Your never-declared 'Empire' is waning fast.

You can move over for the new empires of Russia and China.

With the USA in utter chaos - you'd soon be begging others for help, yourselves.

MAGA is a total myth. But you just keep on kidding yourself.

Soon, you're likely to have your own 2nd civil War to contend with. Black v White, North versus South or just Democrats v Republicans.

You choose.

 

See? just as nonsensical as 'Bailed out the Euros'. 

Right?

21 minutes ago, meechai said:

 

<snip> the USA is not a Democracy but a Constitutional Republic thank you very much

They are not mutually exclusive.

? 1 civilian for every 2 military . Bizzare!

Trump has enough problems at home with the C-19, racism, 50 millions people living under the poverty line, The Great Wall of the US, etc...The EU is not very happy with him, with a bit of luck by November he'll be gone.

Putin will be delighted.

The socialist jobs program that is the US military needs to end.

 

1.3 million employed ????. A good 300,000 needs to be given their walking papers immediately . If Trump wants out of NATO and out of defense agreements with Korea, and bully for him. Then the trimming of the bloated defense budget can really begin.

1 hour ago, TEFLKrabi said:

Um, the euro Germans and Italians against some other Euros. We Euros would like to thanks the US for turning up late twice and wish they’d stop trying to start a Third World War. We’d be happy to defend ourselves as we’ve been busy making friends for 70 years, not making enemies. ????????‍♂️

Better late than never, and perhaps look at European history. So called friends today, are tomorrows enemies. As for "We Euros". Are you some sort of spokesperson for all Europeans? 

1 hour ago, Boon Mee said:

Bailed the Euros out of two world wars. Enough is enough. 

 

MAGA 

you mean brainwashed a generation to go die for no reason, so big companies could go sell their <deleted> in europe ?

 

you know that education is free in Europe (or most countries) ?

you know that healthcare is CHEAP in Europe ? No need to become bankrupt after a heart attack

you know people get a state pension in Europe even they never worked ?

 

2 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Considering Democrats claim to be the "peace party" that's a bit much.

 

It's time Europe defended itself instead of depending on the US to do so, so good job Mt Trump. He should withdraw all the front line troops and just leave a stockpile of weapons in the event of active hostilities. Let the Germans, Italians, Greeks etc fund their own front line troops.

Did you miss the part where only some of the 9000 are going home. The majority are going to poland and other allied countries.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the military to remove 9,500 troops from Germany, 

Need more troop to protect yourself from those nasty protesters eh trump?

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

Bailed the Euros out of two world wars. Enough is enough. 

 

MAGA 

And dragged them in into a few unnecessary wars too.

 

MEGA!

1 hour ago, Bundooman said:

With the USA in utter chaos - you'd soon be begging others for help,

   i almost spluttered my coffee all over the table .....   silly comment  !

Remove them from all Countries 

The left complains about interference abroad and endless wars, until something like this comes out. No matter what Trump does they will find a way to criticize and distort, like their distortion of his statements regarding George Floyd.

Germany needs US troops on its soil like Trump needs a hole in his head, ie not at all.

 

It's wonderful news the Yanks are going. Good for America, which saves money by putting GIs in much cheaper dreary Poland, but even better for Germany where defense will become an issue and the long hard path to nuclear weapons and a stronger army can commence.

 

It's long overdue that Germany build a proper defence umbrella itself. It has the resources and technological know-how to become a major nuclear power. Having US troops on German soil, subject only to US law, the way Europeans were only subject to European laws when occupying China is humiliating and unbecoming for a great nation like Germany.

 

Not that Russia is any kind of threat, though, I'm more concerned about Poland. As it is right now Poland could invade Germany easily. Decades of German political failure will come home to roost unless Germany strengthens its military.

As a European I would welcome a reduction of US troops in Europe. Unfortunately we don't know the reduction in numbers here, but we do know a move of troops from Germany to Poland is involved, which imo is a sensible move.

 

But please reduce the numbers.

Kudos to Trump, let the Europeans step up to pay for their own defense. While most European countries skimp on their defense spending, they throw endless money at their lavish social benefits. Take the money spent on these troops and put it back into the American communities hard hit by the Chinese Virus and recent protests. 

 

Trump is probably sulking from Merkel's thwart to attend the G7 meeting. He didn't consult the NATO alliance partners and just pull this rug off Merkel's feet. Nothing strategic but simply a childish retaliation. . 

7 minutes ago, phkauf said:

Kudos to Trump, let the Europeans step up to pay for their own defense. While most European countries skimp on their defense spending, they throw endless money at their lavish social benefits. Take the money spent on these troops and put it back into the American communities hard hit by the Chinese Virus and recent protests. 

 

Could even pay some debt off. Good plan.

5 hours ago, webfact said:

The move would reduce U.S. troops numbers in Germany to 25,000, from the 34,500 currently there.

The war ended in 1945 and Germany is the worlds's 4th largest economy and the USA is still having troops there.  Having any makes no sense.