US to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany amid tensions with Merz

Due to growing disagreements between American President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the US has decided to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany.

Amid escalating disputes over the conflict with Iran, the US Department of Defense’s decision to recall 5,000 troops from Germany is pushing overall relations between Europe and the US towards a more strained direction. This decision came a day after Trump criticized Merz.

Merz had stated that the US was ‘humiliated’ in front of Iranian negotiators. On Thursday, Trump criticized Merz on social media, saying he was doing ‘a very bad job’ and mentioned several issues like immigration and energy crises in Germany.

Trump had previously hinted at withdrawing American troops from Italy and Spain as well. Currently, the US has a significant military presence in Germany. As of last December, over 36,000 active American troops were stationed at various military bases there.

Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell stated that this order came from US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He said, ‘This decision was made after a comprehensive review of the US military presence in Europe, considering the security needs and situation there.’

According to him, the troop withdrawal process is expected to be completed within the next 6 to 12 months. Trump, who has long been a critic of the NATO alliance, has consistently expressed dissatisfaction with US allies for not cooperating in military operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

When asked by journalists on Thursday about the possibility of withdrawing American troops from Italy and Spain, President Donald Trump said, ‘Maybe I will, why not?’ He criticized Italy and Spain’s response to the Iran conflict, saying they provided no support. He specifically criticized Spain’s behavior, saying it was even worse. He mentioned that everyone gave the same response, saying, ‘Their response was, we do not want to be involved in this.’

Meanwhile, Chancellor Merz, speaking with university students this week, said, ‘There seems to be no clear strategy from the US,’ and added that he did not see what strategic exit the US might choose. He said, ‘The Iranians seem very skilled in negotiations, or rather, they are even more adept at passing time without negotiating. They invited the American delegation to Islamabad and sent them back without any results.’ Merz stated that the US was being humiliated due to the Iranian leadership.

In response, Trump reacted on his social media platform Truth Social, accusing Merz of thinking it was okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons and not being aware of what he was saying. He remarked, ‘That’s why Germany is becoming so weak in economic and many other areas!’

The largest US military presence in Europe is in Germany, with about 36,000 American troops stationed there. In comparison, there are about 12,000 in Italy and about 10,000 in the UK. Many of these troops are stationed at Ramstein Air Base near the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern. Trump had previously proposed reducing American troops in Germany, but those proposals had not been implemented until now.

The only country with a larger American military presence than Germany is Japan. In 2020, there was a proposal to return 12,000 American troops from Germany to other NATO countries or back to the US. However, this was blocked by the US Congress and later reversed by President Joe Biden.