President Donald Trump has approved a plan to withdraw nearly 10.000 US troops from Germany, the Department of Defense confirmed on Wednesday. The move would cut the number of US soldiers stationed in Germany by more than a quarter, with potentially serious consequences. 

Pentagon will withdraw US soldiers from Germany

Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said that Trump had agreed to a proposal to withdraw 9.500 of the approximately 34.500 American soldiers currently stationed in Germany. Hoffman maintained that the plan is to redeploy the troops to “enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, reassure allies,” and improve strategic flexibility. 

No further details as to the timing of the withdrawal were given. Hoffman said that Congress would be briefed in the coming weeks and then NATO allies consulted “on the way forward”. 

Last month, Trump called for cuts in the number of US troops based in Germany, accusing the federal republic of being “delinquent” in its contributions to NATO. He also claimed that Berlin treats the US “unfairly” on trade. “We get hurt on trade and we get hurt on NATO,” he said. “It’s a tremendous cost to the United States. So we are going to bring down the soldier count to 25.000 soldiers.” 

No fixed timeline for US troop withdrawal

Pentagon officials say that, if the withdrawal does take place, some troops could be sent to former Eastern Bloc countries - some permanently, but most only in short-term rotations - to send a message to Russia. 

During Polish leader Andrzej Duda’s visit to Washington last week, Trump said that some American soldiers could be redeployed to Poland. “Some will be coming home and some will be going to other places,” he said. “Poland would be one of those places.” 

The withdrawal still needs to be approved by Congress - which may be a tall order since the plans have been met with widespread criticism, even within Trump’s own party. Leading US Senators (both Democrats and Republicans) have announced that they will use an amendment to the Military Budget Act to block - or at least impede the progress of - the withdrawal. 

The move also threatens serious economic consequences for the affected regions in Germany, since the presence of the US army brings in billions of euros and creates thousands of jobs, especially in Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. In Rhineland-Palatinate alone, more than 7.000 German local forces are attached to US military bases.