Germany takes US troop drawdown in stride but deterrence gaps remain

US President Donald Trump has called for a reduced military presence in Germany and urged Europe to take responsibility for its defence.—Reuters
US President Donald Trump has called for a reduced military presence in Germany and urged Europe to take responsibility for its defence.—Reuters


• German minister says move should spur Europeans as Pentagon announces withdrawal of 5,000 troops
• Two top US Republican lawmakers ​express ‘concern’ over decision
• Nato says it’s working with US to understand details of plan
• Transatlantic tensions simmer over Iran and tariffs

BERLIN: A planned drawdown of 5,000 US troops from Germany should spur Europeans to strengthen their own defences, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Saturday, as the continent scrambles to boost deterrence against Russia.

However, two top US Republican lawmakers expressed concern, saying the troops should not leave Europe.

The Pentagon announced the drawdown from Germany, its largest European base, on Friday, as a rift over the Iran war and tariff tensions place further strain on relations between the US and Europe.

As part of the US decision, a Biden-era plan to deploy an American battalion with long-range Tomahawk missiles to Germany has also been dropped — a blow to Berlin, which had pushed for the move as a powerful deterrent against Russia.

Republican lawmakers Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, the chairs of the Senate and House armed services committees, said they were “very concerned”. They said the troops should not be moved from Europe, but moved east.

“Prematurely reducing America’s forward presence in Europe before those capabilities are fully realized risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,” they said in a joint statement.

Pistorius said the partial withdrawal was expected and would affect a current US presence of almost 40,000 soldiers stationed in Germany.

“We Europeans must take on more responsibility for our own security,” Pistorius said, adding, “Germany is on the right track” by expanding its armed forces, speeding up military procurement and building infrastructure.

Trump called for a reduced military presence in Germany as far back as his first term and has repeatedly urged Europe to take responsibility for its defence. However, he stepped up the threat earlier this week after sparring with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has questioned Washington’s exit strategy in the Middle East.

Nato seeking details

A Nato spokesperson said the alliance was working with the US to understand the details of the decision.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country is seeking assurances of continued US support on Nato’s eastern flank amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, expressed concern about the latest setback to the alliance.

“The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance. We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend,” Tusk wrote on X on Saturday.

The Pentagon decision means one full brigade will leave Germany and a long-range fires battalion that was due to be deployed later this year will be cancelled.

The long-range fires had been due to form a significant extra element of deterrence against Russia while Europeans developed such long-range missiles themselves.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2026



from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/8jCJUQV

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

D.G. Khan lawlessness

THE latest attack this week on a D.G. Khan cement factory convoy by the notorious Ladi gang , which clearly intended to kidnap employees and extort ransom from the factory management, underscores the deteriorating law and order conditions in the district. The raid by criminals armed with automatic weapons, which followed a string of over 30 attacks on police in the area in the first half of 2025 by the banned TTP, is a grim reminder of the ever-deepening security vacuum in the area amid a jurisdictional dispute between law-enforcement agencies. The raid is evidence of the growing nexus between militant outfits operating in the area and local criminal gangs, often backed by powerful local tribal elders and politicians. Spiralling lawlessness underlined by numerous gang assaults on industrial establishments — as well as the kidnapping and killing of factory staff — in recent years speaks volumes for the operational freedom these gangs and militant outfits enjoy in the area. More dis...
Read more

Iran’s ‘calculated response’ helps US declare ‘peace in Middle East’

• Qatar emerges as dealmaker, helping broker US contacts with Iranian regime • Questions linger over terms of ceasefire, future of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions DOHA / WASHINGTON: Iran’s ‘ strike ’ on the US military base in Qatar was carefully calculated to provide an exit from hostilities with Washington and set up a truce with Israel, according to analysts and officials with knowledge of the matter. The missile launches were signalled well in advance, minimising the risk of injury and giving every opportunity to shoot down the projectiles — resulting in a fireworks display of booms and flashes above Doha. They followed heavy US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities at the weekend, a sudden escalation that raised concerns about how Tehran would respond after more than a week of exchanges with Israel. It would seem that Qatar, located across the Persian Gulf, held the answer in the form of Al Udeid, the Middle East’s biggest US base and headquarters of its regional command. Target...
Read more

Can Donald Trump serve a third term as US president?

President Donald Trump on Monday declined to dismiss speculation that he would seek a third term and said he hadn’t considered whether he would go to court to contest the US constitution’s two-term limit for presidents. Here is a look at the legal barriers Trump faces. What does the US constitution say? The 22nd Amendment states in part: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” The amendment was ratified in 1951 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke with a self-imposed two-term limit set by presidents since George Washington, the nation’s first. Roosevelt, a Democrat who was president during the Great Depression and World War Two, served a third term and then died months into his fourth term in 1945. Wayne Unger, a law professor at Quinnipiac University, said the Constitution was clear that presidents are limited to two terms of four years each. He said that while that had not been tested in court, any challenge by Trump would likely be ...
Read more