President Donald Trump wants to withdraw 20,000 U.S. troops from Europe and demand a subsidy from allies to pay for the remaining American military presence on the Continent, Italy’s leading news agency reported this week.
Trump has long advocated for a smaller force in Europe, especially in Germany. At the end of his first term, he ordered 12,000 troops out of Germany, with some to be relocated to other areas in Europe and others back to the U.S.
The plan was never put into effect and was later canceled by former President Joe Biden. However, Trump’s new Pentagon team has made clear that the U.S. needs to play a smaller military role in Europe and shift capabilities to the Pacific to counter a growing threat from China.
The U.S. has about 65,000 troops permanently stationed in Europe and thousands more there on a rotational basis. Since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the overall force level has been in the range of 100,000 troops.
It’s unclear what units would be targeted for cuts, but the rotation of tank brigades to NATO’s eastern flank, a linchpin of allied deterrence since the 2014 Russian invasion of Ukraine, could be in Trump’s crosshairs. Newly installed defense officials have previously indicated that such rotations could be an area where the Pentagon could achieve savings.
Other potential targets are assets that would be of value in deterring China in the Pacific, such as warships, long-range artillery and Patriot missile defense units.
Posted by John3262005
4 Comments
Are Republicans just incapable of understanding soft power?
So German occupation is ending? Curious that Trump doesn’t like German occupation by U.S. troops, uh? Just in time for the AfD might get elected.
The military-industrial complex will not let that happen.
Trump lunacy aside, downsizing in Europe probably does make sense
Europe should take its own defense much more seriously