The leaders of four German states have called on the United States Congress to block plans by the President Donald Trump administration to withdraw US forces from Germany.
Trump said last month that he would reduce the number of US troops in Germany to 9,500, to 25,000, blaming the NATO member for failing to meet the defense spending target of the North Atlantic alliance and accusing him of taking advantage of the United States. on trade.
The appeal from the leaders of the southern states of Germany, where the US bases are located, was addressed to 13 members of Congress and included Senators Mitt Romney and Jim Inhofe.
“We therefore ask you to support us as we strive not to break the bond of friendship, but to strengthen it and ensure the presence of the United States in Germany and Europe in the future,” wrote the Prime Ministers of Bavaria. , Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate.
With their bases, combat units, military hospitals and other key infrastructure, the US military in Germany forms “the backbone of the US presence in Europe and NATO’s ability to act,” the letter seen by the Reuters news agency and several German newspapers.
Germany is home to more American troops than any other country in Europe, a legacy of the Allied occupation after World War II.
Abrupt withdrawal
Trump’s announcement in mid-June that he would order the return of troops from Germany took some American politicians by surprise and sparked a bipartisan backlash in Congress, with many saying it would weaken the bloc’s position against Russia.
The White House has insisted that the measure “will improve Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, reassure allies.”
Meanwhile, Trump has repeatedly branded Germany a “criminal” in his contributions to NATO.
While Berlin does not really owe NATO money, like many members of the alliance, it does not deliver on the promise that all member countries make to spend 2 percent of annual economic output on defense.
Members of both houses of Congress have been working on legislation that prevents the president from beginning the withdrawal of troops.
A spokesman for the United States Embassy in Berlin declined to comment.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
.
