Thursday, 30 July 2020_The US says it will withdraw about 12,000 of its troops from Germany and place them in other European countries to counter Russia.
Unveiled on Wednesday by US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper speaking from Pentagon, the plan has provoking bipartisan opposition in Congress and widespread dismay among other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
According to Esper, the number of US troops in Germany would be reduced by around 11,900, from some 36,000 to 24,000, which is even more than the 9,500 announced last month.
This comes as critics maintain that the plan will cost billions of dollars for the US and will weaken the country's position in Europe vis a vis Russia.
“The plan outlined by the administration today to remove thousands of US troops from Germany is a grave error,” US Republican Senator Mitt Romney said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It is a slap in the face at a friend and ally when we should instead be drawing closer in our mutual commitment to deter Russian and Chinese aggression,” he added.
Meanwhile, Norbert Roettgen, chairman of the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee and an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, warned on Wednesday that Trump's plan “will weaken the (NATO) alliance.”
However, US President Donald Trump defended the move, calling it as a punishment for Germany over failing to meet NATO’s defense spending target.
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