The USA is withdrawing 12000 troops from Germany as it was costing billions of dollars and it is time for the USA to relocate its troops. President Trump has come forward with the statement by bashing Germany and that the decision was based on Germany’s incompetence of paying 2% (only paying 1.38%) of GDP to NATO and taking advantage of the USA. He said in a statement at the White House that,
We spend a lot of money on Germany, they take advantage of us on trade and they take advantage of the military, so we’re reducing the force, they’re there to protect Europe, they’re there to protect Germany, and Germany is supposed to pay for it. We don’t want to be responsible anymore.
White House
This move has met with a lot of opposition as it is seen as a blow at NATO and ‘a gift to Russia.’ The Republican Sen. Mitt Romney has tweeted about objection on the move and calling it as a grave error. “It is a gift to Russia coming at a time when we just have learned of its support for the Taliban and reports of bounties on killing American troops. The move may temporarily play well in domestic politics, but its consequences will be lasting and harmful to American interests.”
It is expected that a total of around 11,900 US troops (Army and Air Force Units) will be brought back to the USA to fall under the cap of only 25000 US forces in Germany. The German government has not issued a public statement yet but the local leadership has been asking the USA Congress to reverse the decision and don’t put a crack on the relationship between Germany and Europe.
