"Strengthening NATO and containing Russia": how the US will withdraw troops from Germany

The United States will reduce its military presence in Germany, withdrawing 11.9 thousand troops from the country. This was stated by the head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper.

“The current plan of the European Command of the US Armed Forces envisages the withdrawal of approximately 11,900 troops from Germany and the reduction of the contingent from about 36 to 24 thousand people. This will be done in such a way as to help strengthen NATO and contain Russia, as well as comply with other principles I have outlined, ”the head of the US military department said during a press conference.

According to the plans of the European Command of the US Armed Forces in Europe (EUCOM), out of 11.9 thousand troops, about 5.6 thousand will be redeployed to various NATO countries, and 6.4 thousand will return to the United States, but will be periodically deployed in Europe for rotary basis.

A number of units, according to Esper, will be redeployed, including with the aim of "containing Russia." In addition, the head of the Pentagon added that in the future, the United States may transfer additional forces to Poland and the Baltic countries.

• Pentagon Chief Mark Esper
• Reuters
• © Greg Nash / Pool

According to corresponding member of the Academy of Military Sciences, Americanist Sergei Sudakov, Mark Esper voiced NATO's true mission - to contain Russia.

“When Esper says that troops from Germany will be partially withdrawn, but part of them will be redeployed to nearby countries, this means that the United States does not want to ease military pressure on Russia. It also confirms once again that from a military point of view, the United States considers Russia its adversary, ”the expert emphasized.

Staff maneuvers

The headquarters of the European command EUCOM will also be withdrawn from Germany. This was announced by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces of NATO in Europe, General Tod Walters, who also took part in a press conference at the Pentagon.

According to him, the headquarters of the European Command, which is now located in Stuttgart (Germany), will be moved to Mons (Belgium). As noted by General Walters, this is being done to merge with the headquarters of the NATO military command, which is located in Mons.

“We also plan to redeploy three brigade headquarters, an air defense battalion and an engineer battalion from Germany to Belgium, and two smaller support and contracting organizations to Italy,” Walters told reporters at the Pentagon, adding that a redeployment could take place in the future. and the American African Command, also based in Stuttgart.

Tod Walters said that two battalions and a squadron of F-16 fighters will be redeployed to Italy from Germany.

The warlord confirmed that the entire process of redeploying American troops would take "years." Thus, this decision may be subject to revision if Donald Trump loses the presidential election in November 2020, American media say.

Pentagon representatives told reporters that the German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg were informed about the plans for redeployment.

Defense for money

Recall that US President Donald Trump actively discussed the reduction of the American military presence in Germany in recent months.

So, on June 15, Trump announced that he plans to reduce the number of American troops stationed in Germany to 25 thousand people.

This statement by the head of the White House caused a negative reaction from a number of Democrats and Republicans, as well as some politicians in Europe.

• Mike Pompeo at a meeting with American soldiers in Germany
• Reuters
• © Jens Meyer / Pool

A bipartisan group of senators led by Republican Mitt Romney has proposed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which approves the US military budget for fiscal 2021. It limits the Pentagon's use of funds to reduce the number of troops serving in Germany.

The senators who participated in the preparation of the amendment called the president's intention to reduce the contingent in Germany "a gift for Russia"

However, Trump, ignoring criticism, motivated his decision by Berlin's reluctance to increase defense spending, despite NATO's instructions on the need to spend 2% of GDP on the army. According to Trump, Germany gives billions of dollars to Russia (meaning money to buy energy from the Russian Federation) and at the same time enjoys American military patronage.

He made similar statements in June when he first announced his plan. He repeated this position on July 29.

“Germany broke the rules. They did not pay their contributions, they did not pay their contributions to NATO. They are still far away (up to 2%). For years they were far away (from 2%), and now they have no intention of paying this money. And so the United States is depriving them of their privileges, ”Trump said.

Political dividends

According to Sergei Sudakov, the movement of troops does not change anything in terms of the US military presence in Europe.

“Trump expects to shift part of the costs to partners and from the point of view of the military there are no big changes. And from the political point of view, the United States will receive dividends, because they will partially withdraw troops from Germany, ”the expert noted.

According to Andrey Sidorov, Dean of the Faculty of World Politics at Moscow State University, the withdrawal of US troops can be viewed not only as an instrument of political, but also economic pressure on Berlin.

“The deployment of American troops means increased income for the population and the creation of new infrastructure. Therefore, some German lawmakers asked not to withdraw troops, ”the expert noted.

Andrei Sidorov believes that Washington intends to stake on the "new Europe" in its policy and the redeployment of troops fits well into this doctrine.

“Since the 2000s, the US authorities have been drawing dividing lines between old and new Europe, using less economically developed but politically active Eastern European countries against their Western European allies. Ideally, it would be good for the Americans if the countries of Eastern Europe became the fighters, and the Western Europe became the cash cows and countries of supply, ”the expert said.

Such a doctrine is also in line with the goals of containing Russia, Sidorov added.

“This arrangement is very beneficial for the Americans. It's cheap, but angry, there is no need to mobilize public opinion against Russia, it is already against it, ”the expert noted.

In turn, Sergei Sudakov noted that it is beneficial for the United States to deploy its armed forces near the borders of the Russian Federation in countries such as Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic countries. On the one hand, they will be economically and politically dependent on Washington, and on the other, they will become a springboard for containing Russia. 

“Now the whole international security system is changing. It is obvious that the United States has indicated that the real problem for them is the confrontation with Russia, ”the expert noted.