US outlines plans to withdraw or relocate troops in Germany

US Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed on Wednesday that troops would be pulled and relocated from Germany. The move is set to be the largest shake-up of troops in Germany since the Cold War.

Earlier this month, the Pentagon said that President Donald Trump had approved a plan to withdraw in the region of 9,500 US troops from Germany. But in Wednesday's announcement, the first time the US set out concrete proposals on its "European Strategic Force Posture Review," Esper tentatively put the number at 11,800.

Under the plan, the US will send home some 6,400 forces and relocate 5,400 out of Germany and to other European countries in Europe, the US Defense Department said. Roughly 25,000 troops are set to remain in Germany.

Read more:  US troop withdrawal a cause for NATO concern, German defense minister says

The reassignment envisages troops moving to Italy and Belgium, but some could also go to Poland and the Baltic states, if Warsaw agrees to an accord that the two sides have been working on, Esper said. The defense chief added the troop redeployment would cost in the "single digit'' billions of dollars.

In a major shift, US European Command and Special Operations Command Europe would be moved from Stuttgart in Germany to Mons, Belgium, General Tod Wolters of European Command said.

Esper said that the troop reassignments were part of a larger plan to update US strategy against Russia. "We are following the boundary east, where our newest allies are," the Defense Secretary said.

'Germany should pay more'

Esper did not explicitly say whether the decision to move troops had to do with President Trump's comments regarding Germany. Trump has often criticized the European ally for not investing enough in defense and being "delinquent" in its NATO payments.

But Esper did back the president's premise. "To give President Trump credit, we have seen an increase in defense spending by NATO," the Defense Secretary said of White House efforts to get more countries to invest in NATO.

Read more: US military in Germany: What you need to know

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump said the European ally "owes billions and billions of dollars to NATO."

"Now Germany is saying it's bad for their economy. Well, it's good for our economy," Trump said, referring to the consequences of the partial withdrawal. "They've been taking advantage of us for many years."

"We don't want to be the suckers any more," the US president said, adding that he could "rethink" the plan "if they start paying their bills."

Esper backed Trump's assertion, saying that Germany was a "rich country" and that it "can and should pay more for its defense." 

The German government has said it expects to spend 1.37% of GDP on defense in 2020.  Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer recently questioned whether defense spending alone was a fair measure of NATO members' contributions to the alliance.

'A burden' on bilateral relations

Retired US General Ben Hodges told DW that the US troop redeployment decision was wrong at its core. "The most important ally that the United States has in Europe is Germany," Hodges said.

The former US General said it was "a gift to the Kremlin" to reduce US capability in Europe without achieving a reduction in Russian aggression.

Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder criticized the US withdrawal plan, adding that it served no clear military purpose and would even weaken the NATO alliance and the US itself.

"Unfortunately, this puts a burden on the German-American relationship," Söder said.

"We are now waiting to see if the decision will last," he added, in reference to the US presidential election in November.

Last week, Söder had joined the state premiers of Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rheinland-Palatinate in a letter to members of the US Senate and Congress pleading for a stop to the plan, saying the troops formed "the backbone of US presence in Europe and NATO's ability to act."

"We therefore ask you to support us as we strive not to sever the bond of friendship but to strengthen it, and to secure the US presence in Germany and Europe in the future," the German politicians said.

Green party opposition politician Jürgen Trittin, who sits on the foreign affairs committee in parliament, told DW he believed the real motivation was not military or defense policy: "It's more a part of the economic warfare Donald Trump is fighting against the European Union and especially the Germans," Trittin alleged, calling for Germany to cancel plans to purchase new F-18 fighter jets from the US in response.

Several members of Trump's own party have also criticized the plan and sought to reassure ties with Germany. "At a time when the US and our European allies must continue to stand hand in hand in deterring malign influences, it is in our national security interest, as well as in the interest of our allies and partners, to continue our presence in Germany," Republican Senator from Fliorida Marco Rubio said in June.

jcg/msh (AP, Reuters, dpa)