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The chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Service committees on Saturday expressed they are \u201cvery concerned\u201d about the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany amid President Trump\u2019s feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n
Trump on Wednesday had announced that he was\u00a0reviewing\u00a0a possible reduction\u00a0of U.S. troops in Germany.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a U.S. brigade from Germany,\u201d the chairs, Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), said in a joint statement. \u201cGermany has stepped up in response to President Trump\u2019s call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending and providing seamless access, basing, and overflight for U.S. forces in support of Operation Epic Fury.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wicker and Rogers said that \u201cprematurely reducing\u201d the U.S. military presence in Europe \u201csends the wrong signal\u201d to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They argue that an assessment on permitting European allies to assume primary responsibility, as they \u201cmove toward spending 5% of GDP on defense\u2026 will take time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The chairmen suggested that rather than removing the troops out of Europe entirely, they should be forwarded to the east. They also insisted that \u201csignificant\u201d changes to the U.S.\u2019s posture in Europe demands \u201ca deliberate review process.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe expect the Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for U.S. deterrence and transatlantic security,\u201d the statement concludes.<\/p>\n
Wicker and Rogers previously criticized the withdrawal of service members from Romania last fall, saying they opposed the Pentagon\u2019s process for its ongoing force posture review. They said it could lead to \u201cfurther drawdowns of U.S. forces from Eastern Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chief Pentagon spokesperson\u00a0Sean Parnell\u00a0on Friday said the withdrawal is expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months. The decision to withdraw the troops comes after the Defense Department reviewed the U.S. posture in Europe.<\/p>\n
The announcement of the withdrawal followed Trump\u2019s criticism of Merz, who he claimed miscalculated the threat of a nuclear Iran. He said Merz should redirect his focus from weighing in on the U.S. conflict with Iran toward Russia\u2019s war in Ukraine \u201cand fixing his broken Country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump has blasted Merz and other NATO allies for not stepping up to work with the U.S. in carrying out \u201cOperation Epic Fury\u201d in Iran.<\/p>\n
Merz told German students on Monday that the U.S. \u201cclearly\u201d has no \u201cstrategic plan\u201d with the war in Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially since the Iranians are negotiating very skillfully \u2014 or rather, very skillfully not negotiating,\u201d he said, according to The Associated Press. \u201cAnd then letting the Americans travel to Islamabad, only to send them back without any results. An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards.\u201d<\/p>\n
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