The announcement came after days of tension on the Washington-Berlin axis. The United States will withdraw 5 thousand, out of a total of 36 thousand, of its soldiers stationed in Germany. The Pentagon made this known after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth countersigned Donald Trump’s decision. In the last week the president clashed with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz who had dared to say that the Iranian leadership was “humiliating an entire nation”.
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Troops deployed in Europe
In Europe the number of American soldiers deployed varies between 80 thousand and 100 thousand, based on the number of exercises underway and rotation shifts. In Germany, US troops number around 36,000. Now with the withdrawal of 5 thousand units, the total will drop to the number that was deployed before the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius wanted to downplay the scope of Washington’s decision. “It was anticipated in advance that the United States would withdraw some forces from Europe, including Germany,” he said. “The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and above all in our country, is in our interest and that of the United States. We Europeans must take greater responsibility for our security”, he added.
However, the US disengagement should not be underestimated, in light of the tycoon’s latest statements. In recent days, Trump, answering a journalist’s question, did not rule out that a similar decision could also concern Rome and Madrid: “Why shouldn’t I? Italy wasn’t of any help to us and Spain was horrible, absolutely horrible.”