this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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Europe

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The US Department of Defence plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, amid a spat between US President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.

The decision comes a day after Trump criticised Merz, who suggested the US had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators.

In social media posts on Thursday, Trump said Merz was "doing a terrible job" and had "problems of all kinds", including on immigration and energy. Trump has also suggested pulling US troops from Italy and Spain.

The US has a significant military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active duty troops assigned to bases across the country as of last December.

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 7 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (4 children)

why the fuck would they do this though? they can't just be shooting themselves in the foot like that right?

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 1 points 19 minutes ago* (last edited 19 minutes ago)

Are they though? Germany is entirely dependent on the US for energy now. And as long as the war in Ukraine keeps up that's not going to change. If anything moving troops out of Germany will probably cause more panic in Germany which could translate into buying more American weapons.

The damage to Europe has already been done, and Europe has no strategic value for the US in the long term.

[–] Lenins_Dumbbell@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 2 hours ago

The US military is running into recruitment shortages. Plus after what just happened with Iran, they'll need to reinforce their outposts there to keep their GCC partners happy.

They're not doing it because they want to, it's because they have no choice. The Trump/Merz conflict is just the catalyst

[–] brem@lemmy.world -4 points 11 hours ago (1 children)

Agent Krasnov's entire purpose as president of the United States is to weaken the United States on the world stage.

[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 1 points 15 minutes ago

I love how Americans always have to externalize all their problems. It's not that your rotten system put a complete imbecile in charge. Oh no, it's the scheming Russians secretly taking over your government. Also, hilarious how Russia is both about to collapse, but also secretly running the world in the liberal lore. Meanwhile, it's pretty clear which country has complete political capture in the US and isn't even hiding it. But blueMAGA here has some amazing conspiracy theories to tell us.

[–] blarth@thelemmy.club -1 points 12 hours ago

How so? Trump’s goal is to empower Russia. Weakening NATO is a means to that end. He’ll always find a reason to do Putin’s bidding. Those little private phone calls he gets where nothing is recorded aren’t friendly, I would wager.