Spurred on by President Donald Trump’s demand to pull troops out of Germany, the U.S. will bring about 6,400 forces home and shift about 5,400 to other countries in Europe, U.S. defense officials said Wednesday, detailing a Pentagon plan that will cost billions of dollars and take years to complete.
The decision fulfills Trump’s announced desire to withdraw troops from Germany, at least in part due to its failure to spend enough on defense. U.S. officials said that some moves will begin in months and would likely send air and ground forces to countries that already have an American troop presence. The plan leaves about 25,000 troops in Germany.
The announcement is closely tied to the plan to increase the U.S. troop presence in Poland, a shift long-desired by Warsaw and Polish President Andrzej Duda. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet announced, said the moves will cost “billions” and require construction at bases in the U.S. to accommodate the additional forces. The officials said that in the future other troops would rotate in and out of Europe.
The next U.S. ambassador to Germany is a Tucker Carlson regular who has claimed that Democrats are trying to replace whites with Latinos to "transform the United States " and pushed George Soros conspiracy theories. https://t.co/mPOVPhASsx https://t.co/CfgQIeJrWJ
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 27, 2020
REUTERS: U.S. to withdraw about 12,000 troops from Germany
— Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) July 29, 2020