The United States will withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months, the Pentagon said Friday, making good on President Donald Trump’s threat as he confronts the German leader over the US’s war with Iran.
Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the Nato ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the US was “humiliated” by Iran’s leadership and criticized Washington’s lack of strategy in the war.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that “the decision follows a thorough review of the department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of the needs of the theater and the base situation”.
The United States has many military bases in Germany, including the headquarters of the European Union Command and the US Africa Command, Ramstein Airbase and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, the largest US hospital outside the United States.
US nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.
The number of troops leaving Germany will be 14 percent of the 36,000 US troops stationed there.
