Germany has not received any “official confirmation” of President Trump’s reported plan to withdraw 9,500 American troops from the key NATO ally, according to Berlin’s top defense official.
“There is no official confirmation of these plans,” German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said Tuesday during a German Marshall Fund event. “And as long as we don’t have an official confirmation, no reaction is needed.”
Trump signed off on a plan to reduce the American troop presence in Germany and set a 25,000 cap on the number of U.S. service members who can be deployed there at any given time, according to the Wall Street Journal. The idea is the latest potential flashpoint in the president’s fraught relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and comes amid policy disputes between Washington and Berlin, including arguments over whether Germany pulls its weight in NATO.
“We are, of course, in close communication with our partners at all levels, especially with the Pentagon,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said. “For us, it is quite clear that the presence of American troops is important for Germany; it is important for NATO. It is likewise important for United States’s own security.”
That statement echoes a warning issued by conservative foreign policy analysts close to the administration, who believe that the proposed reduction undermines other Trump administration efforts to shore up the American position in Europe.
“This reduction would denigrate the significant efforts the Administration has made in bolstering collective defense in Europe, while ultimately undercutting transatlantic security moving forward,” Heritage Foundation Vice President James Carafano, who advised Trump’s transition team, said in a memo co-authored with other analysts. “The U.S. should maintain, or even increase, the number of forces it has in Europe. Additionally, Congress should endeavor to block any attempt to remove forces from Europe.”
Kramp-Karrenbauer implied that Trump is considering the move in order to advance his 2020 reelection campaign.
“The election campaign is gaining momentum in America, and this is also some time of some very special domestic political discussion in the U.S.,” she said. “For this reason, we should always be aware that the separation between foreign and domestic policy doesn’t really exist.”
