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Trump warns of deeper cuts, as NATO seeks clarification from US
Germany's defense minister has said the United States' decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from his country was "foreseeable," while the NATO military alliance announced it was seeking clarification from Washington.
Speaking to the DPA news agency, Boris Pistorius also stressed that "the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US."
Meanwhile, NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said the alliance is “working with the US to understand the details of their decision.” Asked Saturday evening about the troop withdrawal, Donald Trump said “we will be reducing it significantly, and we will be reducing it significantly, well beyond 5,000.” He gave no further details.
Washington's move comes after President Trump criticized German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had said the US had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing war.
The US military presence in Germany, currently over 36,000 active troops, is the largest in Europe, compared to about 12,000 in Italy and 10,000 in the UK. Trump has also announced the withdrawal of US troops from Italy and Spain.
Last year, Washington decided to reduce the presence of troops in Romania, as part of Trump's plan to shift the focus of American military engagement from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.
Concerns are growing within the 32-nation NATO alliance that the latest US decision could weaken the organization.
"The greatest threat to the transatlantic community is not external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Saturday, adding "we must do everything to reverse this harmful trend."
Two senior US lawmakers from the Republican Party said they are "deeply concerned by the decision to withdraw an American brigade from Germany."
"Rather than withdrawing forces from the continent, it is in the U.S. interest to maintain a strong deterrent in Europe," said Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, chairmen of the Senate and House Armed Services committees.
In the interview with DPA, Pistorius also stressed that Europe must take more responsibility for its security and that Berlin will cooperate more closely with allies on the continent.
"Germany is on the right track," he said, noting that the country has significantly increased military spending in recent years.
Trump had previously accused Germany of being "in violation" because its military spending was far below NATO's target of 2% of Gross Domestic Product.
However, this has changed significantly under the Merz government, with Germany projected to spend 105.8 billion euros on defense in 2027.
In total, defense spending is expected to reach 3.1% of GDP, including other defense funds, as well as continued assistance to Ukraine in the fight against Russian troops.
In a post on the X network, Allison Hart stressed that the US decision "underlines the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defense and take a greater share of responsibility for common security."
"We are currently seeing progress, as allies agreed to invest 5% of GDP at the NATO summit in The Hague last year," she added.
The latest clash between Trump and Merz was sparked by comments the German chancellor made on Monday. Merz told university students that “the Americans clearly have no strategy.” “The Iranians are very good at negotiating, or rather at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and leave without a result,” he said.
He added that “the entire nation” was being “humiliated” by Iran. In response, Trump fired back on his Truth Social platform, saying that Merz thinks it’s “okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons” and that he “doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Shortly after, the announcement of the withdrawal of US troops came. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the order had come from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “We expect the withdrawal to be completed within the next six to twelve months,” he added.
Trump, an early critic of NATO, has criticized allies for their refusal to participate in operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil transportation.
Iran has significantly restricted traffic in this maritime corridor in response to US and Israeli attacks that began on February 28. The US has also imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports in the Persian Gulf.
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