The Pentagon on Friday said that it is withdrawing about 5,000 troops from Germany amid a spiraling feud between President Donald Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the U.S. war in Iran.
The Pentagon’s chief spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that the decision follows a “thorough review” of the military’s force posture in Europe. “We expect the withdrawal to be completed over the next six to twelve months,” Parnell said.
Earlier this week, Trump posted on social media that the administration was reviewing its military presence in Germany — headquarters to U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command — and would make a final decision on any changes shortly.
The president has in recent weeks verbally attacked several European allies, including Germany, for what he calls their inadequate support for the war in Iran, which the United States and Israel began in late February.
Merz has criticized the conflict, alleging in public comments that Washington was being “humiliated” by Iran two months into the conflict.
The White House referred a request for comment to the Pentagon. The German Embassy in Washington declined to comment.
A senior Defense Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the administration, called Merz’s remarks “inappropriate and unhelpful.” The planned withdrawal of forces, this official said, is consistent with the Trump administration’s desire to shift attention away from Europe and toward priorities in the Western Hemisphere and Indo-Pacific region.
Friday’s announcement will affect an Army brigade combat team already deployed inside the country, a long-range fires battalion set to arrive later this year and potentially more troops, the senior Defense Department official said.
Officials have not specified how many U.S. troops would remain in Germany, or elsewhere in Europe, once the 5,000 personnel are withdrawn. Tens of thousands of service members are deployed at bases throughout the continent.
Removing the forces from Europe will return America’s force posture there to levels unseen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022 — after which the Biden administration surged forces to the continent in an effort to deter further attacks from the Kremlin.
Withdrawing the forces is likely to spur criticism from some lawmakers in Congress, who required the administration to submit a detailed plan before lowering the number of U.S. military personnel in Europe below 76,000. Last fall, when the Pentagon withdrew a brigade from Romania, the Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees issued a rare joint statement opposing the decision.
“We will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi) and Rep. Mike D. Rogers (R-Alabama) wrote at the time.
It was not immediately clear whether the withdrawal announced Friday would pass the threshold lawmakers required in law.
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