Trump announced his plans for withdrawing nearly 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany, which is a blow to our own interests, but a repositioning that satisfies his friend Vladimir Putin. Trump said regarding U.S. troops, “They’re there to protect Germany, right? And Germany is supposed to pay for it. Germany’s not paying for it. We don’t want to be the suckers anymore. The U.S. has been taken advantage of for 25 years, both on trade and on the military. So we’re reducing the force because they’re not paying their bills.” Some like his tough talk, but how tough is he, to be Putin’s puppet? Trump admitted on 7/29 to Axios on HBO, that he had not confronted Putin with the intelligence suggesting Russia was paying Taliban fighters bounties for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan; “I never discussed it with him”. How tough is that? After numerous phone calls with Putin? Trump said they discussed nuclear proliferation. Tough on crime, tough on allies, soft on Putin, and other autocrats!
Allies agreed in 2014 to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense by 2024. “Germany is a steadfast NATO ally & 3rd largest contributor to its budget”, said Emily Haber, the German ambassador to Washington. (Trump mandated a cap of 25,000 U.S. troops in Germany.) So, since Germany’s been paying 1.5 percent, not the full 2 percent GDP on defense, a mix of Army & Air Force units, 5400 troops will be withdrawn, moving European Command, EUCOM headquarters, 3 brigade-sized headquarters, an air defense artillery battalion & an engineering battalion to Belgium (which spends less than 1 percent of its GDP on defense), and moving 2 smaller support & contracting organizations and an F-16 fighter squadron to Italy (which pays 1.2 percent of its GDP on defense). Rep. Senator Mitt Romney called the plan, “a grave error and a gift to Russia”. Robert Menendez, Dem on Senate foreign relations committee said, “champagne must be flowing freely this evening at the Kremlin; withdrawing forces from Germany is an affront to one of our closest allies, and ultimately weakens U.S. efforts to counter Kremlin aggression in Europe”. Defense officials said the move would begin within weeks, though it could take years to complete, and would cost billions of dollars, as new military construction will likely be required both in Europe, and in the U.S. to house the 6400 troops returning to the U.S. for rotational deployments. Obviously, the plan could be reversed should Trump lose the election in November 2020.
Trish Forsyth Voss
Aug 4 2020
Another gift to Putin? Pulling U.S. troops from Germany is another BIG mistake!
Trump announced his plans for withdrawing nearly 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany, which is a blow to our own interests, but a repositioning that satisfies his friend Vladimir Putin. Trump said regarding U.S. troops, “They’re there to protect Germany, right? And Germany is supposed to pay for it. Germany’s not paying for it. We don’t want to be the suckers anymore. The U.S. has been taken advantage of for 25 years, both on trade and on the military. So we’re reducing the force because they’re not paying their bills.” Some like his tough talk, but how tough is he, to be Putin’s puppet? Trump admitted on 7/29 to Axios on HBO, that he had not confronted Putin with the intelligence suggesting Russia was paying Taliban fighters bounties for killing U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan; “I never discussed it with him”. How tough is that? After numerous phone calls with Putin? Trump said they discussed nuclear proliferation. Tough on crime, tough on allies, soft on Putin, and other autocrats!
Allies agreed in 2014 to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense by 2024. “Germany is a steadfast NATO ally & 3rd largest contributor to its budget”, said Emily Haber, the German ambassador to Washington. (Trump mandated a cap of 25,000 U.S. troops in Germany.) So, since Germany’s been paying 1.5 percent, not the full 2 percent GDP on defense, a mix of Army & Air Force units, 5400 troops will be withdrawn, moving European Command, EUCOM headquarters, 3 brigade-sized headquarters, an air defense artillery battalion & an engineering battalion to Belgium (which spends less than 1 percent of its GDP on defense), and moving 2 smaller support & contracting organizations and an F-16 fighter squadron to Italy (which pays 1.2 percent of its GDP on defense). Rep. Senator Mitt Romney called the plan, “a grave error and a gift to Russia”. Robert Menendez, Dem on Senate foreign relations committee said, “champagne must be flowing freely this evening at the Kremlin; withdrawing forces from Germany is an affront to one of our closest allies, and ultimately weakens U.S. efforts to counter Kremlin aggression in Europe”. Defense officials said the move would begin within weeks, though it could take years to complete, and would cost billions of dollars, as new military construction will likely be required both in Europe, and in the U.S. to house the 6400 troops returning to the U.S. for rotational deployments. Obviously, the plan could be reversed should Trump lose the election in November 2020.
Trish Forsyth Voss
By spiritspeak • Letter to the Editor 0