Military: Trump: USA is contemplating troop reductions in Germany | EUROtoday

According to President Donald Trump, the USA is inspecting a potential troop discount in Germany. A choice ought to be made shortly, he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

The announcement follows Trump’s clear criticism of Chancellor Friedrich Merz as a result of he had made essential feedback in regards to the US offensive in opposition to Iran. “He has no idea what he’s talking about!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday, referring to Merz (CDU). It’s no marvel “that Germany is doing so badly, both economically and in other respects!” He accused the Chancellor of agreeing that Iran had nuclear weapons.

Trump had already threatened to cut back the troop contingent in Germany throughout his first time period in workplace from 2017 to 2021. According to data from the US navy in mid-April, round 86,000 troopers are presently stationed in Europe – round 39,000 of them in Germany. The quantity modifications commonly, additionally attributable to rotations and workouts.

Merz weeks in the past: Trump needs to take care of the US presence in Germany

In March, Trump had promised the Chancellor that the USA needed to take care of its troop presence in Germany. “This is good news, but I didn’t expect it otherwise,” mentioned the CDU chairman in Washington after a gathering with Trump.

Given Trump’s essential stance in direction of Europe, there had beforehand been hypothesis that the President may additionally withdraw US troopers from Germany. Merz didn’t say whether or not Trump had promised that the US contingent would stay the identical.

Last summer time – throughout Merz’s earlier go to to Washington – Trump personally gave Germany hope that the US troopers stationed there would stay at their present troop ranges. When requested by a reporter whether or not he would go away US troops in Germany, he mentioned: “Yes, we will talk about it.” If Germany needs the American troopers there, he’s keen to take action. “Yes, we will do that. That’s no problem.”

Dozens of main US navy bases in Europe

There have been dozens of enormous US navy bases in Europe for many years, that are of monumental significance in American missions all over the world – for instance within the Middle East: Troops, weapons, ships and plane are stationed right here, drones are managed and injured individuals are handled. In Germany, these embody the US High Command for Europe (EUCOM) in Stuttgart and, as a US Air Force hub, Ramstein Airfield in Rhineland-Palatinate. The USA maintains different essential bases in Italy and Great Britain.

The US Congress selected a safety mechanism on the finish of 2025: The complete variety of armed forces completely throughout the European Command’s space of ​​accountability might not be lower than 76,000 for greater than 45 days. After that, sure reporting channels must be adopted in an effort to obtain a discount.

What the connection between Merz and Trump is like

If you are taking Trump’s current statements as a benchmark, the non-public relationship with Merz appears to have reached a brand new low. Merz countered this impression on Wednesday. “The personal relationship between the American president and me remains good – at least from my point of view,” he mentioned. “We are still in good discussions with each other.”

Why Merz criticized the US authorities

The Federal Chancellor and the US President maintained a reasonably good relationship with one another for months. Recently, nevertheless, Merz adopted a brand new tone and publicly criticized Washington. He accused the US authorities of not having an exit technique for the Iran warfare. “Because the Iranians are obviously stronger than expected and the Americans obviously don’t have a really convincing strategy in the negotiations,” he mentioned throughout a dialogue with college students in Marsberg within the Sauerland.

“The problem with such conflicts is always: You don’t just have to get in, you also have to get out again. We saw that very painfully in Afghanistan, for 20 years. We saw that in Iraq,” the Chancellor continued. The Americans “obviously went into this war without any strategy” in Iran. This makes it all of the tougher to finish the battle now. “Especially since the Iranians are obviously negotiating very cleverly – or not negotiating very cleverly,” mentioned Merz. “An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian government.”

Trump would not communicate effectively to different Europeans both

Merz will not be the primary main politician in Europe whom Trump has massively attacked. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron have additionally fallen out of favor with the Republican. Recently, after the US President’s criticism of the Pope, there was even a conflict between him and the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.