Trump orders removal of 9,500 US troops from Germany
The U.S President, Donald Trump has ordered the military that 9,500 troops should be removed from Germany.
This move would reduce number of US troops in Germany from 34,500 to 25,000.
According to a U.S official on Friday, the move would likely raise concerns about the U.S commitment to the continent.
The decision has no connection with the tensions between Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, over Trump’s failed plan to hold a G7 meeting this month.
It rather was a result of months-long work by General Mark Milley, an America’s top military officer and chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
Another senior administration said that the 9,500 troops would be sent elsewhere, while some would be sent to Poland as others would be sent to allied countries and others would return home.
According to the officer, there has been an increase in the defense spending by U.S.-led NATO military alliance, and as a result Germany does not need a large contingent of the US military.
It was also said that the move was ordered in a memorandum recently signed by Robert O´Brien, Trump’s national security adviser, and said that the order which has just been given has been in the US plan since September.
The move by the US has been criticized by senior lawmakers from Merkel’s ruling conservative bloc on Saturday.
Criticizing the move, Johann Wadephul, foreign policy spokesman for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said, “The plans once again show that the Trump administration is neglecting an elementary leadership task: the involvement of alliance partners in decision-making processes.”
Wadephul also said that this should be a wake-up call to Europeans to improve their positions in terms of security policy.
While giving his comment on the move, Andrew Weiss of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said, the move was ‘huge gift’ for Russia as Russia and China are the two countries that stand to gain from discord.
Weiss further said in a tweet, “With one fell swoop, Trump is showing once again that our alliances are nothing more than a political plaything.”
In a statement by John Ullyot, White House National Security Council spokesman it was said that the US still holds fast to its commitment working with Germany on defense and other issues.
Mateusz Morawiecki, Polish Prime Minister has however expressed wishes that the US troops set to be removed from Germany would be reassigned to Poland.
Speaking to the private radio RMF24 on the issue, Morawiecki said, “I deeply hope that as a result of the many talks that we had … part of the troops based today in Germany which are being removed by the United States … will indeed come to Poland.”
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