House Republicans Oppose Trump’s Troop Cuts in Germany
Top officials weren't told about plan ahead of announcement
Jason Ditz
Last week’s announcement of 9,500 US troops being planned to withdraw from Germany was a surprise to many. It’s still a surprise to German officials, who say the US has yet to contact them and tell them about it. Top US security officials similarly say they weren’t told about the matter at all before it was announced.
This makes the decision and the timing of the announcement curious. While Trump is known to have problems with Germany, and want to cut troops to spite NATO, it’s strange that he did it suddenly without either telling Germany or his own team.
But while the cuts didn’t exactly come out of nowhere, they’re also not popular choices. A number of House Republicans have issued a letter saying they are “very concerned” about the cuts, saying they want to strengthen the US in Europe to confront Russia.
US troops have been in Germany for decades, always about confronting Russia. With that justification, any cuts are going to be attacked for any justification, and the expectation would be a build-up going forward.
This makes the decision and the timing of the announcement curious. While Trump is known to have problems with Germany, and want to cut troops to spite NATO, it’s strange that he did it suddenly without either telling Germany or his own team.
But while the cuts didn’t exactly come out of nowhere, they’re also not popular choices. A number of House Republicans have issued a letter saying they are “very concerned” about the cuts, saying they want to strengthen the US in Europe to confront Russia.
US troops have been in Germany for decades, always about confronting Russia. With that justification, any cuts are going to be attacked for any justification, and the expectation would be a build-up going forward.
posted by Satish Sharma at
09:51
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