US pledges more troops in Germany
Print Edition
The United States will ramp up its forces in Germany amid the latest tensions with Russia over Ukraine, abandoning former president Donald Trump鈥檚 plans to pull out around 12,000 of the 36,000 troops from the fellow NATO country.
鈥淚 briefed the minister on our intention to permanently stage an approximately 500 additional US personnel in the Wiesbaden area as early as this fall,鈥 US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said after meeting his German counterpart, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, in Berlin.
Last June, Trump had announced his aim to cut the US troop contingent in Germany by about a third, saying Berlin had been taking advantage of the US while not meeting financial obligations to NATO.
Austin, who as a young lieutenant served in Germany and said he had fond memories of the time, struck a completely different tone, thanking Berlin for its contribution to NATO missions as in Afghanistan and taking steps to increase defense spending.
鈥淚 truly value what you bring. It is not lost on me that we share values, and that you are a very committed partner,鈥 he said while Kramp-Karrenbauer welcomed his troop decision as an encouraging signal.
Austin evaded questions about whether the deployment of additional troops was a message to Russia amid renewed tensions over Ukraine but stressed the military value for NATO of having more boots on the ground in Europe.
鈥淭hese forces will strengthen deterrence and defence, and they will augment our existing abilities to prevent conflict and if necessary to fight and win,鈥 he said.
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