The new head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, intends to give his own assessment of the decision of the Donald Trump administration to significantly reduce the American military contingent in Germany.

This was announced during a press briefing by the press secretary of the US Department of Defense, John Kirby, commenting on a telephone conversation between Austin and German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

“He made it clear that he wants to look globally at the deployment of troops.

(...) We, of course, will look at the European region and once again evaluate it from the point of view of the US Armed Forces and our strategy in this region.

(...) He assured the Minister of Defense (FRG. -

RT

) that regardless of the decision we made, it would be coordinated with her and the German government.

There will be no surprises, ”Kirby said, adding that the final decision on this issue will be made in the interests of US and German national security. 

At the same time, Kirby urged journalists not to make premature conclusions about whether "there will or will not be any specific changes."

Recall that in the summer of 2020, Donald Trump ordered the withdrawal of almost 12 thousand troops from Germany, arguing that Berlin was slow to increase defense spending and, at the same time, wasted money on the purchase of Russian energy resources.

As part of this decision, 6,400 American soldiers will return to the United States, but will be periodically deployed in Europe on a rotational basis, while the rest will be redirected to Italy and Belgium.

The former head of the Pentagon, Mark Esper, noted that such a distribution of troops would help to more effectively "contain Russia."

Then this decision was criticized by both Democrats and Republicans.

"Not fulfilled obligations"

In addition to a possible revision of the decision to withdraw troops from Germany, the Biden administration may make adjustments to plans to reduce the American contingent in Afghanistan.

Discussing this issue at a briefing, John Kirby emphasized that the Taliban had failed to fulfill their obligations under the agreement with Washington.

The Taliban have defaulted on their obligations.

If they fail to meet their commitments to renounce terrorism and end violent attacks on the Afghan national security forces, and thus on the Afghan people, it is very difficult to chart a definite path towards a negotiated settlement, ”said a Pentagon spokesman.

  • Pentagon spokesman John Kirby

  • © US Marine Corps Sgt.

    Aaron hostutler

Recall that the Trump administration in February 2020 signed an agreement with the Taliban, according to which the number of the US contingent in Afghanistan should be reduced from 13 thousand to 8.6 thousand people.

In mid-November and.

about.

US Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller said that by January 15, 2021, only 2.5 thousand American troops will remain in Afghanistan.

However, the Joe Biden administration intends to revise the current agreement, as it became known from the statement of the official representative of the US State Department Ned Price.

He said that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had a telephone conversation on this issue with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on January 28.

“He informed the interlocutor that the United States is reviewing the February 2020 agreement with the Taliban and is considering whether the Taliban is fulfilling its obligations to sever ties with terrorist groups in order to reduce the level of violence in Afghanistan and participate in constructive negotiations with the Afghan government and other interested parties, "- said in a statement on the website of the State Department.

Earlier at a Senate hearing, Blinken said the Afghan problem is a challenge for the new administration.

Recall that when he was Joe Biden's adviser on international affairs during his election campaign, Blinken argued that the United States should maintain a military presence in Afghanistan to fight terrorism and protect its interests.

According to Obama's precepts

At the same time, representatives of the Taliban have already commented on the actions of the new authorities in Washington and expressed the hope that this does not mean the US withdrawal from the agreement.

This was stated by the deputy head of the political office of the Taliban movement Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanakzai.

“We signed a peace agreement with the American side, it was signed by the legitimate US government.

Just because the Biden administration is evaluating the agreement does not mean they will withdraw from it.

They evaluate him, this is their internal procedure, "RIA Novosti quoted him as saying.

“We hope that the United States will implement this peace agreement signed in Doha, and it is in the interests of the United States,” Stanakzai added.

At the same time, he noted that if Washington violates the agreement and maintains its military presence in the country, the movement will have no choice but to re-enter the fight with the United States.

“We hope the US will leave.

We are practically sure of this, I do not think they will not withdraw their troops.

But if they violate the agreement, although I hope they will not, then there will be no other way out for us but to defend ourselves, we will fight.

Just like it happened before with other occupying forces, ”said the representative of the movement.

Earlier, the Biden administration's plans to revise the withdrawal of troops had already been criticized in the camp of his predecessor, Trump.

The ex-president's son, Donald Trump Jr. posted on his Twitter a link to an article by the Israeli edition of The Jerusalem Post, which discussed the possibility of canceling the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq.

The reason for this, according to the newspaper, could be the recent double terrorist attack in Baghdad, which occurred 4 km from the American embassy.

Commenting on the post, Donald Trump Jr.

wrote that Joe Biden is ready to get involved in wars on the very first working day as president.

Vladimir Batyuk, head of the Center for Political-Military Studies of the Institute of the USA and Canada, RAS, commenting on the new statements of the Pentagon and the State Department, recalled that the decision to withdraw troops from Germany caused an ambiguous reaction both in the United States itself and among American allies in Europe.

“I do not exclude that this decision will indeed be reviewed by the Biden administration.

But the situation with the presence of the American military in Iraq and Afghanistan is not so clear-cut.

Obviously, the current authorities will need to take into account the opinion of the public, which is extremely negative about the presence of American troops in that region.

Considering that the Afghan war has become the longest in US history, sooner or later it must be ended, ”Batyuk said.

In turn, Andrei Koshkin, a member of the Academy of Military Sciences, in a conversation with RT, suggested that talks about the possible cancellation of Trump's decisions to reduce the US military presence abroad indicate that Biden intends to return Washington to the course set by Barack Obama.

“Considering Biden's personnel policy, his background, the foreign policy trajectory that Obama outlined, under him will be reanimated and presented to the world community in new conditions.

Obama's foreign policy line is linked to globalization and aims to return the United States to the position of global hegemon.

Given Biden's statement, in which he noted that it is time for America to sit at the head of the world table, one can expect that he will strengthen the American military presence and use it as a lever of pressure on other states.

In this regard, there can be no question of any reduction in the military contingent in Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, ”Koshkin concludes.

* "Taliban" - the organization was recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated 02.14.2003.