US move to withdraw troops from Germany can cost billions and take years
US troops
The US is moving forward with President Donald Trump's plan to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany, a plan that will cost billions to execute and will take years.
Trump announced the decision on Wednesday, citing Berlin was not spending the NATO target of 2% of its GDP on defence and because Germany was taking "advantage" of the US.
"We spend a lot of money on Germany, they take advantage of us on trade and they take advantage on the military, so we're reducing the force," he told reporters at the White House.
The plan to pull US troops from the long-time NATO ally has been met with broad bipartisan opposition amid concerns that it will weaken the US military's position vis a vis Russia, however the Trump Administration has decided to proceed with the move.
To this end, approximately 11,900 US troops, a mix of Army and Air Force units, will be removed from Germany to meet Trump's mandated cap of 25,000 US forces in Germany, according to a senior US defense official, a number higher than the figure of 9,500 that was used when the reduction was first announced.
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Of the troops leaving Germany some 5,400 will be "staying in Europe," the official said. The remaining 6,400 forces and their families will be returned to the US and will in time redeploy to Europe.
Secretary of Defence Mark Esper said this would cost billions of dollars as new military construction will likely be required both in Europe and the US to house the additional troops.
The timeline suggests that the plan could be reversed should Trump lose the election in November.
Key US command centres will also be repositioned as part of the move, Esper and top military leaders confirmed Wednesday.