China News Service, July 30, reported that the US Secretary of Defense Esper announced on the 29th that the US military stationed in Germany will cut 11,900 people, and some of the reduced forces will be redeployed to Italy and Belgium.
Data map: US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. Photo by China News Agency reporter Sha Hanting
This transfer may be initiated in the next few weeks. The Pentagon will return approximately 6,400 military personnel stationed in Germany to the United States, and nearly 5,600 personnel will be transferred to other NATO countries.
Esper said that after the adjustment, there will be about 24,000 US troops stationed in Germany. The main purpose of the deployment is to strengthen deployment near the Black Sea on the southeast side of NATO.
In addition, the European headquarters of the US military will move from Stuttgart, Germany to Belgium.
The U.S. military base in Germany is an important hub for U.S. military operations in the Middle East and Africa. There are currently more than 30,000 U.S. troops stationed. However, the United States and Germany have disagreements on the issue of NATO military expenditure. .
There are reports that this withdrawal is expected to take several years to complete, and it is estimated to cost billions of dollars. Inhoff, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee and a Republican, expressed support for the plan, but many current and former U.S. officials criticized that withdrawing troops would pose a serious threat to U.S. national security.
The top of the Christian Democratic League to which German Chancellor Merkel belongs and the chairman of the Congressional Foreign Affairs Committee Lott Garonne, criticized that the US military withdrawal plan would weaken NATO's military power.
Esper said that this adjustment has been discussed for a long time and is not caused by US President Trump's dissatisfaction with the relationship between the US and German authorities.