The United States will bring 6,400 soldiers home and move 5,400 additional soldiers from Germany to other countries in Europe, US defense officials announced Wednesday.
This decision will fulfill President Donald Trump’s desire to withdraw troops from Germany after he accused the country last month of being “delinquent in payments” to the NATO security alliance.
Withdrawing troops from NATO’s ally will be part of a Pentagon plan that will take years to complete and will cost billions of dollars. Some moves will be made in the coming months to withdraw troops, leaving some 25,000 soldiers in Germany.
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Trump expressed his desire to withdraw troops from Germany last month when he met with Polish leader Andrzej Duda at the White House. He said the United States will transfer some of its troops from Germany to Poland, a change celebrated by the country’s officials.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed the news of plans to withdraw the troops and said it would cost “billions” for the United States. The additional costs stem, in part, from the need to build new military bases in the countries to accommodate the additional forces.
“It will take some time,” said Esper.
He also denied that the withdrawal of troops from Germany was a measure taken by the Trump administration to punish the country, about which Trump has spoken openly.
When speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Trump confirmed that the move to cut troops was a punishment for the amount Germany has contributed to NATO.
“The United States has taken advantage of trade and the military for many years,” he said. “Germany owes billions of … dollars to NATO. Germany is a criminal … They have taken advantage of us for many years.”
He added: “We are protecting Germany. So we are reducing our strength because they are not paying their bill.”
If Germany “paid its bill,” Trump said, it would consider not withdrawing troops from the country.
Germany has served as a U.S. military center for operations in the Middle East and Africa. Critics of the move expressed that troop placement in Germany was more to protect the national security of the US rather than protect the country, but Trump has maintained that the country owes the US payment.
Members of the president’s own political party have also criticized the president’s decision to withdraw troops from Germany and move them elsewhere, with concern that it could encourage Russian aggression in Europe. After Trump first expressed his desire to withdraw troops from Germany, 22 Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to the president warning that the move could be a gift to Russia and a threat to the national security of USA
But Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, expressed his support for the president’s plan to eliminate troops after being questioned by the Pentagon in early July. He said the move was “realigning the United States’ military posture in Europe” while mentioning other places that troops could go, such as Ukraine, Bulgaria and Romania.
“We need to maintain a strong presence in Europe to deter Russia, maintain a flexible platform to project power in other theaters like Africa, and minimize the impact of these changes on the military families who are already sacrificing so much for our country,” he said.
General John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday that there was no concrete plan for the withdrawal of troops.
“What we have now is a concept … now we have to turn it into plans,” he said.
It is unclear if the plan would go through if Trump did not win re-election in November.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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