Pentagon to pull more troops from Germany

WASHINGTON — United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday the country plans to withdraw "a lot further" than the 5,000 troops from Germany that the Pentagon had earlier said.

"We're going to cut way down, and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000," Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One in Florida.

The Pentagon announced on Friday the withdrawal of about 5,000 US troops from Germany, which is expected to be completed over the next six to 12 months.

"This decision follows a thorough review of the (Defense)Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground," Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said.

NATO said on Saturday that it was working with the United States to understand Washington's decision to withdraw troops from Germany, amid fresh tensions between the US and Germany over the Middle East crisis.

Earlier, Trump hinted at a troop withdrawal after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Iran was "humiliating" the US in negotiations to end the conflict between the two sides.

On Thursday, Trump said he may also reduce US military presence in Spain and Italy, while criticizing European allies for not helping in the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Spain's Defense Minister Margarita Robles called Trump's statements "neither appropriate nor, of course, based on any legal grounds".

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Thursday that Berlin is prepared, while stating that major US military sites, such as the Ramstein Air Base, still serve an irreplaceable role for both sides.

More than 36,000 US troops were assigned to bases throughout Germany as of December, along with nearly 1,500 reservists and 11,500 civilians.

Yu Xiaohua, a professor at Germany's University of Goettingen, said that Trump might execute a symbolic reduction, maybe a few hundred troops, as a political gesture. Still, some observers see a broader shift underway.

In a commentary published in the French daily Le Monde, former German vice-chancellor Joschka Fischer said, "Whatever the case, the dissolution of the alliance has already begun."

Xinhua