The Pentagon said Friday that the decision to withdraw the troops came after a “thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground.”
“We’re going to cut way down,” Trump said in Florida. “And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
When Europe declined to send warships to help open the Strait of Hormuz, he called NATO “useless” and “cowards,” and has since been seemingly trying to punish his European allies. Internal Pentagon documents found that the U.S. was considering a review of U.S. diplomatic support for European countries’ “imperial possessions,” such as the Falkland Islands, and was floating the idea of suspending Spain from NATO.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz said on Monday.
Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the move was “anticipated.” Even with the withdrawal, Germany will still host 30,000 American troops. Still, he told German news agency dpa that Germany welcomes the U.S. troop commitment.
As Trump signals a shift in his priorities on Europe, several Republican lawmakers on the Armed Services Committee released a statement this weekend declaring they were “very concerned” over the troop withdrawal.“Germany has stepped up in response to President Trump’s call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending and providing seamless access, basing, and overflight for U.S. forces in support of Operation Epic Fury,” said Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama in a joint statement.
But drawing down troops in Germany is not the only signal Trump is sending about leaving Europe behind.
Trump threatened that he would “probably” pull back troops from Spain and Italy too, as his relationship with the nations’ leaders continues to deteriorate.
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, in particular, has clashed with Trump after calling U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran “illegal” and refusing U.S. access to Spain’s joint-military bases to continue their assault.
After the Iran war, and Meloni’s defense of Pope Leo after Trump’s attacks on the Pontiff, Trump called her “unacceptable.”
NATO allies told to expect delays in weapons deliveries
At the same time as the drawdown, the Pentagon has told NATO allies across Europe to expect weapons delays as the U.S. works to replenish its own weapons stockpiles used during the Iran war.
Ukraine was already facing a shortage of U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems, $4 million-a-piece munitions it uses to shoot down ballistic missiles and drones. The Financial Times reports that these new weapon delays will also affect munitions for HIMARS and NASAMS missile systems. The HIMARS system is a highly mobile rocket system used in Ukraine.
The war in Iran has also intensified concerns about whether the U.S. has enough weapons stockpiles to deter China from a potential invasion of Taiwan.
Trump, for his part, dismissed concerns over U.S. stockpiles on Friday: “All over the world, we have inventory, and we can take that if we need it,” he said.
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