Trump orders US troop withdrawal from Germany
The United States will withdraw at least 5,000 troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon confirmed on Friday, as President Donald Trump renewed his criticism of North Atlantic Treaty Organization amid tensions over the Iran conflict.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the move follows a “thorough review” of US force posture in Europe, taking into account current operational requirements and ground realities. The withdrawal would account for roughly 14 per cent of the nearly 36,000 American troops stationed in Germany, according to an Associated Press report.
Germany hosts key US military installations, including the headquarters for European and Africa commands, the Ramstein Air Base and the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.
US-NATO tensions deepen
The decision comes amid a widening rift between Washington and NATO allies over the ongoing Iran conflict. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had criticised the US stance earlier this week, saying America was being “humiliated” by Iranian leadership.
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” he said during an event in Marsberg.
Trump, however, dismissed criticism of the US campaign and doubled down on his long-standing attacks on NATO, calling the alliance a “paper tiger.”
“This should have been done by other presidents long before and should have been done by other countries too… And we got no help from NATO. We got no help, zero help from NATO. We spend trillions of dollars on NATO and we got no help. We didn’t need it but we got none. It is a paper tiger,” he said at an event in The Villages, Florida.
The troop pullback signals a potential recalibration of US military commitments in Europe as geopolitical tensions continue to evolve.
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