By Jerald Jimenez
President Donald Trump assured this Saturday that a plan is underway to reduce the US military presence in Germany, and it is expected that more than 5,000 troops will desert the European country.
The president offered statements to the press from Florida, where he ratified the demobilization of troops due to the lack of support from European partners in military operations against Iran, EFE reported.
“We are going to reduce drastically and we are going to cut much more than 5,000”Trump said, this being a figure that exceeds previous estimates managed by the Department of Defense, which on Friday projected a minor adjustment to adjust operational capabilities in the region.
Previous Department of Defense order
For his part, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth issued a prior order to withdraw “approximately 5,000 troops from Germany.” The Pentagon has clarified that this movement responds to the “needs and conditions of the theater of operations.”
Likewise, a technical schedule was established for the departure of the troops, indicating that “The withdrawal will be completed in the next six to twelve months“, which will transform defense logistics in European territory.
Political tension with Chancellor Friedrich Merz
The White House decision comes amid friction with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who recently accused the Trump administration of of having been “humiliated” by the Iranian government during the negotiation process.
In response, Trump urged Merz to focus on “fixing” his own country, which he described as “broken,” and managing an end to the war in Ukraine instead of “interfering” in strategies related to the Iranian conflict.
The U.S. military maintains a deployment of more than 36,000 active-duty personnel within Germany. The troops are distributed in facilities of high strategic relevance, such as the Ramstein air base, the Wiesbaden fashionable barracks, the Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels training areas in Bavaria, the Spangdahlem base and the Stuttgart complex.
Keep reading:
– NATO seeks to clarify military withdrawal plans in Germany with Washington
– The US adapted a plane donated by Qatar to temporarily use it as a presidential plane
– Coast Guard and CBP intercept 42 migrants on Aguadilla beach, Puerto Rico; five were injured