"US to Shift Troops from Germany" Topic

The USA is planning to pull 12,000 troops out of Germany, or about 1/3rd of its forces:

link

Germany has been criticized for not spending adequately on its own defense, as it agreed to in its commitment to NATO, decades ago. For the last number of years, it has been spending only about half of the 2% it committed to allocate to its own, and the common defense of Europe, despite being one of the richest countries in the EU/NATO.

In response to open criticism, German leaders have promised to increase spending, and have done so slightly, but have said that the 2% goal couldn't be reached until at least 2030.

Given how they've performed in the past, it seems unlikely that they'll ever reach that goal, even a full decade from now.

USA

Note that they're not coming 'home', really.

… 5,600 troops would be repositioned to Belgium and Italy and 6,400 would return to the U.S., although many will then redeploy to Europe. A number of these new rotations would deploy troops to the Black Sea region… the U.S. plans to increase its troop presence in Poland…

So 24,000 out of 36,000 American troops or 2/3 will still remain in Germany. Move along. Nothing to see here folks.

Bring all troops out of Europe, and for that matter Japan, Korea and the middle east too……

Yea, I get that some will be redeployed, but others are coming home.

Sends a clear message to Berlin.

…and to Moscow.

Dan,

If the Europeans won't defend themselves. then Moscow can have them!

And to be honest Germany and most of Europe wants comfortable relations with Russia.

If it wasn't for the Americans, I suspect Western Europe would have largely ignored Ukraine and Crimea after the Russians annexed it.

The Europeans also want to trade with Iran without restriction.

There was an analysis by the Finnish military a few years ago that assumed that western Europe and especially Germany would let the Russians take over the Baltics.

With eastern expansion of NATO western Europe has ironically got itself what the Russians crave, a security buffer.

Combo up with American support and the western Europeans figure they don't need capable defence forces. After all it will be Americans fighting and dying for them on eastern European soil.

THE message was given to Putin, via Medvedev, 4 – 5 years or so ago, when someone was caught on a hot mic, and on video.

Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2012-2019)

Now, although I do understand the reasoning of the current US-Administration and find the state of the German army debatable, the admittedly mediocre German defense expenditure as a share of GDP (1.36% in 2019) can't be the only reason for shifting to Italy (1.22% in 2019) and Belgium(0.93% in 2019), can't it?
That the number of US-Troops stationed in Germany already decreased from about 72,000 in 2006 to 34,000 in 2018 does not improve the argument.

So wake me up when US-Troops leave Ramstein, Okinawa or Pyeongtaek because of monetary questions.

Till then, I think its campaigning in the USA, isn't it?

Oh, and beside that, the Baltics and Poland are logical deployment zones for NATO or better said US-Troops in Europe, the same way Germany was back then, aren't they?
So I wouldn't count on that many of your boys coming home in the long run.

Soooooooooooo… where's the apparently so thin border line between this subforum title and actual current politics?

From TMP link

"Can I discuss politics here?
Recent politics are not allowed. [POLITICS RULE] Discussion of political events more than ten years in the past is allowed."

I understand this rule extensive not just to internal USA affairs arguing, but to international politics too. Otherwise this rule would become a bad joke, or so I humbly believe.