US to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany in move that will cost billions and take years
Source: CNN
(CNN)The US is to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany in a move that has attracted bipartisan congressional opposition and roiled key allies who see the move as a blow to NATO.
President Donald Trump's decision to pull thousands of troops will take years to execute and will potentially cost billions of dollars to bring about, according to US defense officials.
The plan to pull US troops from the long-time NATO ally has been met with broad bipartisan opposition amid concerns that it will weaken the US military's position vis a vis Russia, however the Trump Administration has decided to proceed with the move.
Approximately 11,900 US troops, a mix of Army and Air Force units, will be removed from Germany to meet Trump's mandated cap of 25,000 US forces in Germany, according to a senior US defense official, a number higher than the figure of 9,500 that was used when the reduction was first announced.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/politics/us-withdraw-troops-germany/index.html
on orders from putin no doubt
C_U_L8R
(45,002 posts)Tick tock. Trump's time is running out.
keithbvadu2
(36,802 posts)Bengus81
(6,931 posts)Warpy
(111,256 posts)denying Merkel and her country any extra security while freeing up a lot of heavily armed bodies to deploy to US cities with Democratic mayors.
What, somebody out there didn't realize that's what he's up to?
Initech
(100,075 posts)samsingh
(17,598 posts)House of Roberts
(5,169 posts)This is a futile gesture to Putin. Unless Putin gets Trump re-elected, none of this stands.
iluvtennis
(19,858 posts)pandr32
(11,583 posts)I am sure he already has key people in line to staff important agencies to strengthen our ties with Allies.
He will not waste time or make excuses.
bringthePaine
(1,728 posts)ToxMarz
(2,166 posts)We are going to be barraged with announcements of dramatic action by Trump that can't even begin to be done before November. Most won't be done even if Trump is reelected. None will be done if Biden wins. Just a string of cliffhanger episodes for his reality show.
BComplex
(8,051 posts)WTF ??? I hope Biden stops that nonsense the minute he's finished putting his hand on the Bible and reciting the oath of office after John Roberts.
Lonestarblue
(9,988 posts)They can slow walk this action for at least the next six months. You dont just create a new base in another country and move troops there overnight. Selecting and preparing a site could easily consume three months. Creating a logistics plan can take another three months. Very easy to stall this one until a sane person is in office.
NurseJackie
(42,862 posts)UCmeNdc
(9,600 posts)Putin got his guarantee announcement. Now Putin will help Trump cheat and get reelected. Unless the US wakes up and stops Putin.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)The linked article:
"Belgium and Italy, the two countries that will be receiving US troops from Germany,
spend an even a smaller percentage on defense than Berlin does."
B Stieg
(2,410 posts)So happy for them
Sinistrous
(4,249 posts)a fresh stab in the back to the US every day.
Stuckinthebush
(10,845 posts)That the US will always be a NATO member and support the NATO mission regardless of momentary lapses in understanding by the current administration. Then give a wink and say, "hold on world, a reasonable United States will be restored momentarily".
That would make Trump howl.
Grins
(7,217 posts)Yeah. We can't believe it either.
riversedge
(70,215 posts)BadgerKid
(4,552 posts)Could be profitable.
Bengus81
(6,931 posts)OneCrazyDiamond
(2,032 posts)Steelrolled
(2,022 posts)Actually, I'm all for getting troops out of Europe, and I think the Germans would be happy with that.
And while we are at it, let's get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,032 posts)Steelrolled
(2,022 posts)I of course agree that Germany should have a big say. Almost all of the responses in this thread only considered the interests US and Russia, and never mentioned Germany. It shows how strong politics can be on our thinking.
Edit for typo.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)TomVilmer
(1,832 posts)... is one of Trump's plans, though this would be a violation of the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act.
BigmanPigman
(51,590 posts)Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) Tweeted:
Guess the call with Putin went well.
For Putin.
Link to tweet
?s=20
onetexan
(13,041 posts)November election. Destabilizing Europe/NATO is Putin's goal.