Announcing a withdrawal of 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany, 74-year-old President Donald Trump made good on his promise to bring U.S. armed forces home from foreign deployments. Since the end of WW II, the U.S. stationed over 250,000 troops in Germany primarily to stop anarchy in the wake to Hitler’s defeat Sept. 2, 1945. As time progressed U.S. maintained its troop strength in Germany to halt the Soviet Union from making inroads into Western Europe, where Russian already controlled East Berlin and parts of Germany since the end of WW II. With 42,450 U.S. troops in Germany, Trump’s decision was based on a strategic redeployment to Belgium, Italy and Poland, but also to serve notice that the U.S. expects NATO countries to pay 2% of their Gross Domestic Product [GDP] for defense. Germany has fallen below that figure with no intent of ponying up.
Since taking office Jan. 20, 2017, Trump promised to get NATO countries to up their contribution to the alliance, not expect the U.S. to foot the bill. “We don’t want to be the suckers anymore,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We’re reducing the force because they’re not paying their bills; it’s very simple,” trying to get 66-year-old German Chancellor Angel Merkel to pay up. Merkel has shown no interest, like most EU countries, in playing ball with Trump, in part because he helped fuel the U.K. Brexit vote back in 2016. Britain officially left the European Union [EU] Jan. 31, 2019, shaving off $2,7423,586 trillion in GDP off the EU, now standing at $18,705,132 trillion, about $3 trillion less that the U.S. at $21,439,453 trillion, shrinking rapidly under the coronavirus AKA SARS CoV-2 or Covid-19 global pandemic. Trump’s decision to remove 12,000 troops drew predicable partisan reactions.
Concerned about Russian influence on the European continent has always fueled a large NATO alliance, designed to stop Russia’s old expansionist ambitions. After WW II Russia continued to occupy Kaliningrad, once part of Germany before WW II. Kaliningrad projected the former Soviet Union since 1945 into Western Europe, wedged between Lithuania to the north and Poland to the South on the Baltic Sea. Trump wants NATO countries to shelter a larger portion of the military cost, something resisted by many countries. Trump, who’s ancestry on his father Fred’s side comes from Germany, was especially harsh with Merkel because Germany sells products into the United States without tariffs, something not afforded in the EU to U.S. companies. Trump has asked NATO allies to pony up 2% of their GDP for defense, something most countries resisted especially in the current global recession.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper, 56, said that most U.S. troops removed from Germany would be reassigned to other NATO countries, to continue to maintain vigilance against Russian aggression. Putin’s March 1, 2014 annexation of Crimea sent chills in the NATO alliance, knowing that with Russia’s very capable land army, NATO countries don’t stand much chance without the U.S. stopping a Russian advance. “A major strategic and positive shift,” Esper noted would “unquestionably achieve the core principles o enhancing U.S. and NATO deterrence of Russia,” laying to rest calls on Capitol Hill from Trump’s critics. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Ut.), one of Trump biggest GOP critics on Capitol Hill said, “The withdrawal of U.S. troops from Germany would be a gift to Russia, and that’s the last thing we should be doing,” leading bipartisan opposition to the withdrawal.
Esper said that a squadron of U.S. fighter jets would be moved from Germany to Italy, while some troops would be relocated to Poland, a fierce U.S. ally concerned about Russian encroachment. Germany objected to Trump’s plans concerned that it would add to the economic distress that watched Germany lose 10.1% of GDP in the first quarter. Germany said Trump’s move would weaken the NATO alliance but it’s clear that Germany worries more about its GDP than Russia. Merkel was very clear July 2 that she would move ahead with the Nord-Stream Baltic Sea pipeline with Russia, increasing Germany already strong dependence on Russia for over 40% of its energy. Trump tried to get Merkel to cancel the Nord-Stream pipeline with Russia, to replace it with a U.S.-backed pipeline from Turkey to Germany. Merkel showed her allegiance to the Kremlin over Trump’s alternative energy plan.
Romney called Trump’s move to withdraw troops from Germany “a slap in the face at a friend and ally,” ignoring Merkel’s decision to move ahead wit the Nord-Stream pipeline with Russia. Trump’s critics talk about the dangers of Russia but evidently that’s not a concern to Merkel’s plan to increase Germany’s dependence on Russian energy. Trump go fed up with the claptrap about Cold War rhetoric about Russia when Germany has close economic ties, buying over 40% of its energy from Russia. Trump most likely will use the threat to reduce U.S. military presence in Germany to gain more concessions from Germany and other NATO countries. Trump said Germany was “delinquent” in meeting its financial obligations to NATO, expecting the EU’s most prosperous country to pay its bills for defense. Despite the posturing, no one thinks much will change with U.S. troop deployments in Germany.
