Republicans and Democrats have denounced a plan by President Donald Trump to pull close to 12,000 troops out of Germany, according to a report in The Hill.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, called the move a “grave error,” and Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said Trump is displaying “lack of strategic understanding.”
“Once more, now with feeling: U.S. troops aren’t stationed around the world as traffic cops or welfare caseworkers – they’re restraining the expansionary aims of the world’s worst regimes, chiefly China and Russia,” Sasse wrote in a statement.
He added that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin “are reckless – and this withdrawal will only embolden them.”
“We should be leading our allies against China and Russia, not abandoning them. Withdrawal is weak," Sasse said.
Approximately, 36,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Germany, location of the headquarters for U.S. European and Africa commands.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday announced that roughly 11,900 troops are scheduled to leave Germany. Some 5,600 of those troops will relocate to another location in Europe and about 6,400 will return to the United States.
"We’re reducing the force because they’re not paying their bills,” Trump told reporters while departing the White House. “It’s very simple. They’re delinquent.”
Esper framed the decision to draw down troops as a strategic realignment of forces that was planned months ago. Trump, on the other hand, said the move is meant to punish Germany for not contributing at least 2% of its gross domestic product on defense, as required for all NATO members.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., has said he is “very concerned” about placing “an arbitrary cap” on how many U.S. troops can remain in Germany.
“By the secretary’s own admission, this plan was not drafted in consultation with U.S. allies or with the military services, but instead all parties – including Congress – were notified after decisions had already been made,” Smith said in a statement. “Not only does the plan fail to consider major logistical issues, questions about deterrence and implementation of the National Defense Strategy, and concerns about implications for U.S. efforts in Africa and elsewhere, but also it will almost certainly result in significant costs to the department.”
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