US President Donald Trump has said he believes a withdrawal of US troops from Italy and Spain is “probable”. The “threat” comes after similar statements dedicated to Germany. The problem would be the war in Iran and the limited contribution of NATO’s European partners.
What Trump said about the withdrawal of US troops in Italy and Spain
Responding to a reporter’s direct question about potential military disengagement in Italy and Spain – in addition to the one already mooted for Germany – Trump said: “Why wouldn’t I? Italy has been no help to us at all and Spain has been horrible, absolutely horrible.”
The president lamented allies’ slowness in providing operational support, drawing a parallel with the conflict in Ukraine, which he called “a total disaster.” Underlining how the war directly concerns the European continent (“It’s as if it were their front door”) and recalling the geographical distance of the United States, Trump harshly criticized the Biden administration:
“It’s NATO. It’s not even that it’s one thing. If they said it nicely, or if they said, ‘Okay, we’ll help you.’ But the help is a little slow. And we help them with Ukraine. They made a mess with Ukraine, a total mess. And we help them with Ukraine. Ukraine has nothing to do with it. We’re separated by an ocean. It’s about them. It’s like their front door. We help them,” he said. highlighted Trump. “And Biden gave them $350 billion, which was crazy. It’s one of the reasons why the war continued. But when we needed them, they weren’t there. We have to remember that. And so if we ever had a big one, because we didn’t need help with Iran, we had beaten Iran from day one. It was over, it was over, and now it’s even more over,” he continued.
On the Iranian front, Trump reiterated the military self-sufficiency of the United States, declaring that he had “beat Iran since day one” without the need for allied interventions.
How many US soldiers are in Italy
If the withdrawal hypothesis raised by Trump materializes, Washington would have to withdraw approximately 12,900 US soldiers from bases, permanently operational and distributed mainly across eight strategic military sites: Aviano, Vicenza, Ghedi, Pisa, Gaeta, Naples, Sigonella and Niscemi. Added to these are another 21,000 who are part of the US Navy’s sixth fleet stationed in Naples, where there are 40 ships and 175 combat and transport aircraft.
Because Trump needs Sigonella’s base
The most important base is the Naval air station of Sigonella in Sicily, the starting point for logistics and surveillance missions with Global Hawk spy drones. The Friulian base of Aviano hosts the F-16 tactical fighters, while Vicenza acts as the epicenter for the operations of the ground brigades (such as the 173rd Airborne) aimed at both the European chessboard and the African continent.