Last week, US President Donald Trump ordered the Pentagon to withdraw almost 9,500 troops from Germany, reducing the number of troops stationed in the country from 34,500 to 25,000. The US contends that this had been in the works since September 2019 due to an increase in spending by NATO, and was unrelated to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s refusal to attend a G7 meeting this month. A Trump administration official said that while some troops would return to the US, others would be deployed in Poland and “other allied countries”.
The move has generated both concern and criticism from Germany, as it fears that Europe’s NATO-led defense will be left vulnerable as a result of American withdrawal. The US accounts for 70% of NATO’s defense spending and contributes more troops than any other country.
Johann Wadephul, a senior official in Merkel’s CDU party, said that the US was “neglecting an elementary leadership task: involving alliance partners in the decision-making process”. In fact, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that the decision is indicative of the growing rift between the US and Germany. Maas said, “We are close partners in the transatlantic alliance. But it’s complicated.” Trump has repeatedly taken aim at Germany and other NATO members for not taking up their fair share of the economic burden in the running costs of NATO.
In fact, Trump has openly rejected the idea of globalism, criticizing the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Health Organization (WHO), and NATO, to name but a few international organizations that have faced the wrath of the US president. Conversely, Merkel embraces “globalism, multilateralism, [and] international law”.
Trump’s Rejection of Globalism:
- Trump Threatens to Pull Funding from WHO, Calls it “China-Centric”
- Trump Freezes WHO Funding Over Handling of COVID-19 Outbreak
- US Turns Inwards, Swipes at China & WHO, Ignores Advice of Local Experts & Global Allies
- WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo Resigns
Wadephul urged the US to be cautious and said that China and Russia could capitalize and benefit from “discord” between NATO allies. Meanwhile, Peter Beyer, Germany’s coordinator for transatlantic relations, said that Trump’s decision erodes “transatlantic bridges”, saying that the “German-US relationship could be severely affected” by his decision.
Experts warn that this could have grave strategic implications. The vast majority of US military flights to Iraq or Afghanistan go through an American base in Ramstein, Germany. Similarly, the US military has a hospital in Landstuhl to treat combat injuries for soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, US Africa Command military missions are ‘coordinated’ from Stuttgart. Most importantly, perhaps, US troops deter Russian aggression in the region.
The decision to hastily withdraw US troops is not without precedent. In February, the United States brokered the Afghan Peace Deal between the Taliban and the Afghanistan government, and agreed to significantly reduce its troop presence in the country. However, the lack of foresight with which this deal was conducted meant that instability and violence continue to plague the region.