The United States will pull roughly 5,000 troops from Germany over the next six to twelve months, the Pentagon announced Friday, following a public dispute between President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the ongoing U.S. war with Iran.
The withdrawal represents about 14 percent of the 36,000 American service members currently stationed in Germany. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the decision "follows a thorough review of the Department's force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theater requirements and conditions on the ground."
Trump threatened earlier this week to reduce the U.S. military presence in Germany after Merz said Washington was being "humiliated" by Iranian leadership and criticized what he called a lack of American strategy in the conflict. Trump wrote on social media Wednesday that a "determination" would come soon. It came two days later.
Germany hosts some of the most strategically significant U.S. military infrastructure in the world. That includes Ramstein Air Base, the headquarters of U.S. European and Africa commands, and the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where wounded service members from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars were treated. U.S. nuclear weapons are also stationed in the country.
The announcement drew immediate pushback from Democrats and national security analysts. Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the withdrawal "suggests American commitments to our allies are dependent on the president's mood" and called on Trump to "immediately cease this reckless action before he causes irreversible consequences for our alliances and long-term national security."
Bradley Bowman of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies warned that the U.S. military presence in Germany not only strengthens deterrence against Russian aggression but also enables American power projection into the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Africa. Critics from both groups said the move benefits Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump ignored questions from reporters about the withdrawal Friday as he boarded Air Force One in Ocala, Florida, after a rally focused on his economic agenda.
This is not the first time Trump has threatened such a move. During his first term, he said he would pull about 9,500 troops from Germany, but the process never started. President Joe Biden formally halted the planned withdrawal after taking office in January 2021. This time, the Pentagon says the process will begin.
