Trump plans to punish 'delinquent' Germany, reduce US troops to 25,000

President Donald Trump has said he is ordering a major reduction in US troop strength in Germany, a move widely criticised by members of his own party as a gift to Russia and a threat to US national security.

"We're putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers," Trump said at the White House on Monday.

The US currently has about 34,500 troops in Germany far fewer than during the Cold War, when Germany was the central focus of American and NATO efforts to deter invasion by the former Soviet Union.

In recent decades, Germany has hosted key American military facilities and provided a jumping-off point for troops deploying to the Middle East, including during years of conflict in Iraq.

Trump faulted Germany for failing to pay enough for its own defence, calling the long-time NATO ally delinquent. "We're protecting failure thus far to attain a goal set by all NATO members in 2014 to spend at least 2 pe cent of gross national product on defense by 2024." Germany says it hopes to reach 2 per cent by 2031.

Since his election in 2016, Trump has pushed for the 2 per cent as a hard target, and he has repeatedly singled out Germany as a major offender, though many others are also below the goal.

 

In his White House remarks to reporters, Trump suggested his troop withdrawal decision was intended to punish Germany, noting that the presence of American troops is a boost to local economies.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump confirmed the number of US soldiers in Germany would reduce to 25,000, Xinhua reported.

"Germany as you know is very delinquent in their payments to NATO," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that US troops would redeploy to Germany until it pays.

Those are well-paid soldiers, he said. They live in Germany. They spend vast amounts of money in Germany. Everywhere around those bases is very prosperous for Germany. So Germany takes, and then on top of it they treat us very badly on trade.

In addition to the 34,500 US troops in Germany, there also are approximately 17,500 Defense Department civilians.

Former US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell told German media outlet Bild Live last week that "American taxpayers no longer feel like paying too much for the defence of other countries."

"There will still be 25,000 soldiers in Germany, that's no small number," added the Trump loyalist.

The administration has contemplated a partial troop withdrawal from Germany since last year, and in recent weeks it became apparent that Trump was ready to move forward, although no decision had been announced.

The decision was not discussed in advance with Germany or other NATO members, and Congress was not officially informed prompting a letter from 22 Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee urging a rethink.

The threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that signs of a weakened US commitment to NATO will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism, Rep. Mac Thornberry of Texas wrote in a letter to Trump with his colleagues.

Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, slammed Trump's move as another favour to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Liz Cheney, a Republican from Wyoming, said last week that Trump appeared to be making a serious mistake.

America's forward presence has never been more important than it is today, as our nation confronts the threats to freedom and security around the world posed by Vladimir Putin's Russia and the Chinese Communist Party, Cheney said.

The reduction might further strain the relations between Washington and Berlin. The two allies have been at odds with each other on Iran nuclear issues, Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, and defence burden-sharing, among others.

Trump has been repeatedly complaining that US allies exploited his country on defence spending. In his remarks to graduates of the United States Military Academy over the weekend, Trump emphasized the US military is not the policemen of the world.