Published 12:28 IST, June 16th 2020
Trump pulling number of US troops in Germany to 25,000 over NATO spending feud
US President Donald Trump said on June 15 that he would cut the number of troops in Germany to 25,000, blaming the ally for failing in its commitments.
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US President Donald Trump said on June 15 that he would cut the number of troops in Germany to 25,000, blaming the ally for failing in its commitments. All members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) had set a goal in 2014 to spend at least 2 per cent of the GDP on defence by 2025 but Germany hopes to meet the target by 2031.
“We're putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers,” Trump told reporters at the White House, adding "they treat us very badly on trade".
Germany has hosted US military facilities for a long time and provided jumping-off point to the troops who were to be deployed in the Middle East. However, Trump stated that the US troops have helped boost the local economies with their personal spending and the decision was to punish Germany for being “delinquent”.
“Those are well-paid soldiers. They live in Germany. They spend vast amounts of money in Germany. Everywhere around those bases is very prosperous for Germany. So Germany takes, and then on top of it they treat us very badly on trade,” said Trump.
In December last year, Trump reached London to attend the NATO summit and swiftly took the credit for an increase in NATO spending levels. According to NATO, there has been a rise in defence investment for the fifth consecutive year and allies except the United States have committed to spend $130 billion extra by the end of 2020.
In the 3 decades before my election, NATO spending declined by two-thirds, and only 3 other NATO members were meeting their financial obligations. Since I took office, the number of NATO allies fulfilling their obligations more than DOUBLED, and NATO spending increased by $130B!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 2, 2019
'Threats have not lessened'
There has been a continuous presence of US troops in Germany since post-World War II and with greater number during the Cold War to deter any attempts of invasion from the former Soviet Union. Trump’s decision to cut back on troops had become apparent in the recent weeks which prompted Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee to urge the US President to reconsider.
“The threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that signs of a weakened US commitment to NATO will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism,” Mac Thornberry wrote in a letter to Trump.
12:28 IST, June 16th 2020