The Pentagon said Friday the United States will withdraw 5,000 troops from military bases in Germany following a threat made by President Donald Trump following an argument with the country’s leader over the Iran war.
This amounts to a relatively modest decline from the buildup that began under President Joe Biden in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. There would still be about 33,000 American troops in Germany.
Trump, who has repeatedly complained that NATO countries have failed to assist in the attack on Iran, has warned for months that the US would withdraw troops from Europe.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the withdrawal after reviewing the U.S. troop buildup in Europe and in response to “heater requirements and conditions on the ground.”
“The Secretary of War has ordered the withdrawal of approximately 5,000 troops from Germany,” Parnell said. “We expect the withdrawal to be completed in the next six to twelve months.”
Trump for the first time proposed withdrawing troops from Germany on Wednesday to escalate his frustration over NATO and European allies’ support for the war in Iran. That proposal surprised Pentagon officials, who had not heard of troop withdrawal as a possibility before the president’s threat in a social media post.
There are 38,000 US troops deployed in Germany, which is home to US European Command and Africa Command – the largest deployment of US forces to Europe to date.
The Pentagon completed a review of US military posture around the world earlier this year. That report did not call for the withdrawal of large numbers of troops from Europe, but it did pledge to commit more military assets to the Western Hemisphere and the Pacific and to leave European security to European countries.
Earlier this year the Pentagon announced it would not replace the Army brigade leaving Romania, setting off alarm bells within NATO. But the withdrawal of Romania and Germany should not have a major impact on European security, especially as most NATO allies are spending more on their military capabilities and increasing the size of their armed forces.
Not all Republicans agreed with the Pentagon order. Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte and Brad Bowman, former national security adviser to Todd Young, said withdrawing troops from Germany would primarily harm the US and benefit US adversaries such as Russia.
“The U.S. military posture in Europe, including Germany, not only strengthens deterrence against additional Kremlin aggression but also facilitates the projection of U.S. military power into the Mediterranean,” Bowman said.
Leo Shen III contributed to this report.
