US President Trump instructed the Pentagon to proceed with a partial withdrawal of troops from Germany, reports The Wall Street Journal.
This step will reduce the presence of American troops in Germany by 9,500 military personnel out of 34,500 military personnel who are constantly there.
This step also limits the number of US troops who are in Germany at any given time to 25,000. In accordance with current practice, the total number of troops can increase to 52,000 as units rotate or participate in exercises.
It is reported that the decision to reduce the grouping is not caused by the deterioration of relations between Berlin and Washington.
But it is worth remembering that in mid-August 2019 the USA threatened to withdraw its soldiers from Germany if Berlin does not increase military spending
The Trump Administration considered withdrawing some of the US troops stationed in Germany if Berlin does not increase its military spending. The US Ambassador In Germany, Richard Grenell has denounced that the largest European economy does not pay enough for its defense, despite repeated demands from Washington.
“It is offensive to assume that the American taxpayer must continue to pay to have more than 50,000 Americans in Germany, but the Germans can spend their surplus on national programs,” the diplomat told the DPA news agency.
Her comments come after the US ambassador in Poland, Georgette Mosbacher tweeted that the country would be happy that the American troops are transferred there from Germany.
Poland meets its 2% of GDP spending obligation towards NATO. Germany does not. We would welcome American troops in Germany to come to Poland.
— Ambasador Mark Brzezinski (@USAmbPoland) August 8, 2019
For his part, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, also mentioned the possibility of moving some American troops from Germany to Poland. He did so in June in talks with his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda in Washington.
The European country with the most US soldiers
Germany was the country in Europe with the largest number of American soldiers: 35,000. They were deployed along with 17,000 US civilians employed (mercenarys) by the US Army. In addition, some 12,000 German civilians also work at the deployment-related posts.
However, in recent times Germany has been the target of constant criticism from the White House for not contributing enough to NATO. For next year, Berlin intends to spend 1.36% of GDP on Defense. While this figure marks a sharp increase, it is still well below the Alliance’s 2% target for Member States.
