The United States will bring 6,400 troops home and move an additional 5,400 troops from Germany to other countries in Europe, US defence officials announced on Wednesday.
This decision will fulfil President Donald Trump’s desire to withdraw troops from Germany after he accused the country last month of being “delinquent in their payments” to the NATO security alliance.
Removing the troops from the NATO ally will be one part of a Pentagon plan that will take years to complete and cost billions of dollars. Some moves will be made in the coming months to withdraw the troops, leaving about 25,000 soldiers in Germany.
Mr Trump vocalised his desire to remove troops from Germany last month when meeting with Polish leader Andrzej Duda at the White House. He said the US would be transferring some of its troops from Germany into Poland, a shift celebrated by the country’s officials.
Secretary of Defence Mark Esper confirmed the news of plans to withdraw troops and said it would cost “billions” for the US. The added costs come, in part, from the need to construct new military bases in the countries to accommodate the additional forces.
“It will take some time,” Mr Esper said.
He also denied the pulling of troops from Germany was a move made by the Trump administration to punish the country, which Mr Trump has been openly vocal about.
When speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Mr Trump confirmed the move to remove troops was a punishment for how much Germany has contributed to NATO.
“The United States has been taken advantage of on trade and military for many years,” he said. “Germany owes billions of … dollars to NATO. Germany is delinquent … They’ve taken advantage of us for many years.”
He added: “We are protecting Germany. So we are reducing our force because they’re not paying their bill.”
If Germany were to “pay their bill”, Mr Trump said, he would then consider not withdrawing the troops from the country.
Germany has served as a US military hub for operations in the Middle East and Africa. Critics of the move expressed the placement of troops in Germany was more to protect US national security instead of protecting the country, but Mr Trump has maintained the country owes the US payment.
Members of president’s own political party have also been critical of the president’s decision to remove troops from Germany and moving them elsewhere, with concerns it could encourage Russian aggression on Europe. After Mr Trump first expressed his desire to remove troops from Germany, 22 Republicans from the House Armed Services Committee sent a letter to the president that warned the move could be a gift to Russia and a threat the US national security.
But Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, a Republican of Oklahoma, voiced his support for the president’s plan to remove the troops after being debriefed by the Pentagon earlier in July. He said the move was “realigning US military posture in Europe” while mentioning other places troops could go – such as Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania.
“We need to maintain a strong presence in Europe to deter Russia, sustain a flexible platform for projecting power into other theaters like Africa and minimise the impact of these changes on military families who already sacrifice so much for our country,” he said.
General John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chief of Staffs, said on Wednesday there was no concrete plan for the removal of troops.
“What we have right now is a concept … we now have to turn it into plans,” he said.
It remains unclear if the plan would be carried out if Mr Trump were to not win re-election come November.
The Associated Press contributed to this report