Top Republicans express concern over Trump plan to withdraw troops from Germany
May 2 (Reuters) – Two top Republican lawmakers expressed concern on Saturday about the Pentagon’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from NATO ally Germany.
Here are some details:
• US Senator Roger Wicker and US Representative Mike Rogers said in a joint statement, “We are very concerned about the decision to withdraw the US brigade from Germany.”
• Republican-elect Wicker of Mississippi and Rogers of Alabama chair the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, respectively.
• Their statement was released a day after the Pentagon announced the withdrawal and said the move was expected to be completed within the next six to 12 months.
• US President Donald Trump had threatened to reduce his forces earlier this week after arguing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said on Monday that the Iranians had humiliated the US in talks to end the two-month-old war and that he did not see what kind of exit strategy Washington was pursuing.
• Wicker and Rogers said any significant changes to the U.S. military’s presence in Europe should be reviewed and coordinated with Congress and U.S. allies.
• “We expect the Department to engage with oversight committees in the coming days and weeks about this decision and its implications for U.S. deterrence and transatlantic security,” they said in the statement.
• Even if NATO allies increase defense spending to 5% of GDP, it will take time to build capabilities to take over conventional deterrence, and prematurely cutting US forces in Europe “risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to (Russian President) Vladimir Putin,” the statement said.
(Reported by İsmail Şakil, edited by Ross Colvin/Keith Weir)
