this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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US to cut troop levels in Germany by 5,000 amid Trump spat with Merz (www.bbc.com)
submitted 23 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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[–] yogthos@lemmy.ml 6 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours 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.