Trump had earlier threatened to pull some US troops from Germany after Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed his disapproval with the US-Israeli war on Iran, which has upended the Middle East and caused a global oil price crisis.
US President Donald Trump announced that his country will withdraw 5,000 active-duty troops from NATO ally Germany in the next six to 12 months, fulfilling his earlier threats after Trump clashes with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the US-Israeli war in Iran.
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Trump had threatened to withdraw some troops from the NATO ally earlier this week after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington was being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and criticised their lack of strategy in the war.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the “decision follows a thorough review of the Department’s force posture in Europe and is in recognition of theatre requirements and conditions on the ground.”
Germany hosts several US military facilities, including the headquarters of its European and Africa commands, Ramstein Air Base and a medical centre in Landstuhl, where casualties from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were treated. US nuclear missiles are also stationed in the country.
The number of troops leaving Germany would be around 14% of the total deployment in the country, which exceeds 36,000 US service members.
News of the troop withdrawal drew swift pushback from Democrats in Congress, who say that the move will benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin and weaken US security interests.
The withdrawal “suggests American commitments to our allies are dependent on the president’s mood," said Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
"The president should immediately cease this reckless action before he causes irreversible consequences for our alliances and long-term national security,” Reed added.
Trump made a similar threat in his first term, saying he would pull close to 10,000 of the roughly 34,500 US troops who were then stationed in Germany at the time, but he didn’t start the process.
Democratic President Joe Biden formally stopped the planned withdrawal soon after taking office in 2021.
The US president has mused for years about reducing US military presence in Germany, and has railed against NATO for its refusal to assist Washington in the war, which began on 28 February with US-Israeli strikes on Tehran.
US allies in NATO have braced for a potential troop withdrawal since Trump took office last year, after Washington warned that Europe would have to look after its own security, including that of Ukraine, in the future.
Depending on operations, exercises and troop rotations, the US stations around 80,000-100,000 personnel in the continent. Analysts say the move could carry disastrous consequences at a time of heightened global instability, conflicts and wars.