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GOP Leaders Sound Alarm Over U.S Troop Pullout from Germany
(MENAFN) The chairs of both the House and Senate Armed Services committees sounded the alarm Saturday over Pentagon plans to withdraw 5,000 US troops from Germany, cautioning the move risks undermining Washington's strategic posture in Europe.
"We are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany," Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Mike Rogers, the two senior Republican lawmakers, declared in a joint statement.
The pair acknowledged Berlin's contributions under pressure from Washington, noting that "Germany has stepped up in response to President (Donald) Trump's call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending and providing seamless access, basing, and overflight for US forces in support of Operation Epic Fury."
Wicker and Rogers argued that "prematurely reducing" the US military presence in Europe "sends the wrong signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They further cautioned that allowing European allies to shoulder primary responsibility, as they "move toward spending 5% of GDP on defense… will take time."
Rather than a full withdrawal from the continent, the lawmakers urged that the forces be repositioned eastward, insisting that "significant" changes to US posture in Europe demands "a deliberate review process."
A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Friday that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the redeployment of roughly 5,000 troops currently stationed in Germany — a move foreshadowed by President Donald Trump, who indicated the US was reviewing its military footprint there.
The developments follow sharp remarks from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took aim at Washington over its handling of the Iran conflict, suggesting Americans were being "humiliated" by Iranian leadership during negotiations and that the US appeared to lack a clear exit strategy.
"We are very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany," Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Mike Rogers, the two senior Republican lawmakers, declared in a joint statement.
The pair acknowledged Berlin's contributions under pressure from Washington, noting that "Germany has stepped up in response to President (Donald) Trump's call for greater burden sharing, significantly increasing defense spending and providing seamless access, basing, and overflight for US forces in support of Operation Epic Fury."
Wicker and Rogers argued that "prematurely reducing" the US military presence in Europe "sends the wrong signal" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. They further cautioned that allowing European allies to shoulder primary responsibility, as they "move toward spending 5% of GDP on defense… will take time."
Rather than a full withdrawal from the continent, the lawmakers urged that the forces be repositioned eastward, insisting that "significant" changes to US posture in Europe demands "a deliberate review process."
A Pentagon spokesman confirmed Friday that US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the redeployment of roughly 5,000 troops currently stationed in Germany — a move foreshadowed by President Donald Trump, who indicated the US was reviewing its military footprint there.
The developments follow sharp remarks from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who took aim at Washington over its handling of the Iran conflict, suggesting Americans were being "humiliated" by Iranian leadership during negotiations and that the US appeared to lack a clear exit strategy.
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