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US to cut troop levels in Germany by 5,000 amid Trump spat with Merz (www.bbc.com)

submitted 16 hours ago by geneva_convenience@lemmy.ml to c/europe@lemmy.ml

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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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[–] Lenins_Dumbbell@lemmygrad.ml 6 points 3 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