German authorities immediately trashed the plan. Norbert Röttgen, chairman of the Bundestag foreign affairs committee, said in a statement to POLITICO that the move would weaken the NATO alliance and reduce the effectiveness of the US military against Russia and the Middle East.
“I hold my point: the reduction of United States troops is not in the security interests of Germany or NATO, and it makes no geopolitical sense for the United States,” said Peter Beyer, coordinator of the German government for relations ocean liners, on Twitter. “We need more cooperation to dominate the future.”
US lawmakers from both parties criticized the measure in June after initial reports emerged. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) Quickly condemned the measure on Twitter on Wednesday.
“Our strength levels have been falling in Europe, for good reason, over the years. But we always make troop adjustments in consultation with Germany and NATO. Trump is doing this cautiously. Probably only to embarrass Germany. “he tweeted. “No plan. No consultation. It’s a very bad idea.”
The plan involves moving the headquarters of the US European Command and that of the European Special Operations Command from Germany to Belgium, said EUCOM Commander General Tod Wolters. In the future, the headquarters of the United States Africa Command and the United States Africa Special Operations Command could also move from Germany to a new location, he said.
Esper and other top officials argued that the new approach of deploying more rotational forces, as opposed to permanently stationed troops abroad, will increase deterrence against Russia, improve the readiness of deployed forces, and provide a more flexible and “durable” presence. “particularly in the Black Sea and on the southeast flank of NATO.
“Our US EUCOM strategy demands increasing speed in our efforts and better and better posture,” said Wolters. “This realignment allows us to favorably deter Russia, assist NATO, strengthen the alliance, enhance Secretary Esper’s strategic flexibility, and enhance EUCOM’s operational flexibility.”
Many of the 6,400 troops returning to the US will begin to carry out rotating deployments. The 4,500 members of the Second Cavalry Regiment in Germany will return to the US as other Stryker units begin to rotate in the Black Sea region. Of the 5,600 soldiers in Germany to be deployed to other parts of Europe, approximately 2,000 will go to Belgium to do the work at headquarters. Another 2,500 Airmen currently scheduled to deploy to Germany from the United Kingdom will remain in the United Kingdom and a combat squadron and elements of a combat wing will be dispatched to Italy.
Once Warsaw signs a defense cooperation agreement and a burden-sharing agreement, the United States will also rotate a major Army unit to Poland, Esper said. There may be additional opportunities to move forces to Poland and the Baltic in the future, he said.
There are no plans at the moment to move any of the troops to the Indo-Pacific, Esper said, despite a June opinion piece from national security adviser Robert O’Brien that raised that possibility.
Still, the move “should send a clear and unmistakable message to our competitors,” said Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. John Hyten. “While we hope that Russia and China will engage in more productive and cooperative behavior in the future, we are using our forces to deter aggression and counter its evil influence.”
Hans Joachim Von Der Burchard and Max Cohen contributed to this report.
