USA want to withdraw more soldiers from Germany than previously known

Washington wants to reduce the number of emergency services in the Federal Republic by almost 12,000. The European command center is to be relocated to Belgium.

US airbase in Wiesbaden-Erbenheim
12,000 US soldiers are withdrawn from Germany.

Berlin, Washington The US government plans to start withdrawing several thousand American soldiers from Germany in the coming weeks. On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Defense announced details of the planned deployment of troops for the first time. Instead of the original 9,500 soldiers who are due to leave Germany, the US government is now expecting a withdrawal of 11,900 soldiers. That would reduce the number of troops permanently stationed in Germany from 36,000 to around 24,000.

"We will strengthen NATO and improve deterrence against Russia," said Defense Minister Mark Esper. 6400 of the soldiers affected should return to the United States, the Pentagon said. However, it is not yet clear where exactly they will be used. A return to Europe is also conceivable as part of a rotating team. The remaining 5,600 soldiers would be re-stationed within the NATO alliance.

Norbert Röttgen, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag, called the step "more than unfortunate". The United States achieved exactly the opposite of what Esper cites as justification. Instead of strengthening NATO, the withdrawal of troops will weaken it. "The effectiveness of the US military is not increased, but reduced, especially with a view to Russia and ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East," said Röttgen.

The Pentagon stressed that Washington had informed Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

According to Pentagon boss Esper, the renovation would cost "several billion dollars" because both the relocation of thousands of people and the construction of new quarters had to be financed. The restructuring is not only expensive, but also time-consuming. The Pentagon admitted that the renovation could take “months to final planning and years to complete”. In the end, it might not be possible for President Donald Trump to lose the November election. But the fact that the US government is pushing the issue forward in the current election campaign is a signal that the Trump administration wants to keep the pressure on Berlin high.

Eucom headquarters to move to Belgium
Stuttgart will probably be hit hardest by the troop withdrawal, Esper said. The USA, however, want to continue operating their main airfield in Ramstein and their military hospital in Landstuhl. Important US command centers would be repositioned as part of the move, it said. For example, the Eucom headquarters should be relocated from Germany to Belgium. The US-Europe command Eucom monitors the US armed forces on the continent. The headquarters of the Africa command Africom may also move.

US President Donald Trump had threatened to withdraw troops several times in the past few years, but the plans had never been implemented. The plans are criticized by many US partners and also within the military, Trump's opponents in the US accuse him of being guided solely by the motive to punish Germany. It is feared that NATO's clout, particularly against Russia, could be weakened. The US government is attempting to counter this criticism by considering deploying parts of the troops in Eastern Europe.

“The question is therefore interesting: will the US permanently move a brigade or more from Germany to Poland after the presidential election? If so, this should be equivalent to a de facto termination of the NATO-Russia file by the USA ”,