(10 Jun 2020) A German official confirmed on Wednesday the government had been informed of US plans to withdraw troops from the country.
Germany's defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer suggested on Monday that US President Donald Trump's reported plans to withdraw more than a quarter of American troops out of Germany could weaken not only the NATO alliance but the U.S. itself.
German government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday the government had been informed the US was considering reducing its forces in Germany but added: "To the best of our knowledge, there is no final decision."
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed to The Associated Press that there were plans to move troops, saying some could go to Poland while others could go elsewhere.
The decision is part of the president's and Department of Defense efforts to review combatant commands around the globe, the official said.
The Trump administration has been urging Germany to spend more on its defense to meet the NATO goal of spending 2% of gross domestic product on defense, and American officials in the past had raised the possibility of moving troops out as a veiled threat.
The days are long gone when hundreds of thousands of American troops were stationed in Germany as a bulwark against the possibility of a Soviet invasion. Today, the country is much more a hub for wider American military operations.
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