US to Withdraw 5,000 Troops From Germany
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- The Pentagon announced the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany, ordered by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, with the move expected to be completed over the next six to twelve months
- Trump said 'We're going to cut way down, and we're cutting a lot further than 5,000' when asked about the withdrawal, without providing further details
- Germany currently hosts more than 36,000 active duty US troops — by far the largest US military deployment in Europe, compared with about 12,000 in Italy and 10,000 in the UK
- The withdrawal followed Trump's Truth Social attack on Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who had told students the US was 'humiliated' by Iranian negotiators after failing to reach a deal in Islamabad
- Nato is 'working with the US to understand the details of their decision,' with spokesperson Allison Hart saying the move 'underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security'
- Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned that 'the greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance'
- Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers, the Republican chairs of the Senate and House armed services committees, said they were 'very concerned' and that maintaining a strong deterrent in Europe 'is in the US interest'
Why it matters: The US is shrinking its largest European deployment by roughly 14% within 6-12 months, and Trump has telegraphed deeper reductions. Germany is already projecting €105.8bn in defence spending for 2027 (3.1% of GDP), and Nato is now publicly telling Europe to take on a 'greater share' of the alliance's security burden — a structural shift in transatlantic cost and risk that is happening by US fiat rather than allied agreement.
