Presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden would "review" President Donald Trump’s decision to reduce U.S. troop presence in Germany by about a third if he became president, the former vice president’s adviser on foreign affairs said Thursday.
Antony Blinken, a former staffer for the Senate Foreign relations committee that Biden chaired and his national security adviser as vice president, told Reuters all of Trump’s decisions would be reviewed, "including that one."
"It certainly begins with the way it was done," he said. "But we have a profound problem with the substance of it as well."
Trump announced on June 15 that he planned to cut America’s military presence based in Germany to about 25,000 from the current 34,500, making the decision without consulting Angela Merkel’s government after it failed to meet NATO’s target of spending at least 2% of gross domestic product on defense. Germany spends about 1.38%, according to NATO figures.
The announcement has been decried by Democrats and even some Republicans.
Trump administration officials have said some of the U.S. troops in Germany would be moved to Poland while others would be sent to the Pacific to counter the growing militaristic activity of China.
Blinken said Biden’s administration would use NATO to offset threats from Russia and China, including Chinese company Huawei's efforts to construct 5G telecommunications networks in European countries.
Trump administration sanctions against Huawei have resulted in Germany postponing its decision to consider foreign corporations for building any of its network, and Britain is reconsidering its January decision to allow the company to help install its network.
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