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Not content to sow chaos in Central America, South America, and the Middle East, Donald Trump is attempting to repeat his "feat" in Europe. Evidence of that comes from Trump's declaration that he will withdraw 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany. Over the weekend, Trump doubled down on his claim, saying he would bring the number of troops "way down," even below the originally stated 5,000 number. That comes from a report at Associated Press (AP) under the headline "Trump says US will reduce number of troops in Germany 'a lot further' than withdrawal of 5,000":
President Donald Trump said Saturday that the U.S. will significantly reduce its troop presence in Germany, escalating a dispute with Chancellor Friedrich Merz as he seeks to scale back America’s commitment to European security.
The Pentagon on Friday had initially announced it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but when asked Saturday about the reason for the move, Trump didn’t offer an explanation and said an even bigger reduction was coming.
Why did Trump offer no explanation? Well, he probably doesn't have one because he is America's "toddler in chief," who doesn't seem to have the forethought to plan anything. Is Trump withdrawing troops because he is in a snit over German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's critique of the U.S. war effort in Iran? Published reports, such as this one from The Hill, suggest the answer yes:
It is not surprising that Trump was annoyed by Merz’s comments to a group of students in Germany. Merz essentially suggested that Iran was defeating the Trump administration at the negotiating table.
“The Iranians are obviously very skilled at negotiating, or rather, very skillful at not negotiating, letting the Americans travel to Islamabad and then leave again without any result,” Merz said during a talk to students in the German town of Marsberg, Reuters reported.
“An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership, especially by these so-called Revolutionary Guards. And so, I hope that this ends as quickly as possible,” he added.
Perhaps tired of Trump's childish, blowhard ways, at least one German official sounded as if he would be content just to have the U.S. president out of his hair. The official also suggested Trump's plans would weaken U.S. global standing -- a position Trump apparently doesn't agree with or doesn't care about. From the AP report:
Earlier on Saturday, Germany’s defense minister appeared to take in stride the news that 5,000 U.S. troops would be leaving his country.
Boris Pistorius said the drawdown, which Trump has threatened for years, was expected, and he said European nations needed to take on more responsibility for their own defense. But he also emphasized that security cooperation benefited both sides of the trans-Atlantic partnership.
“The presence of American soldiers in Europe, and especially in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the U.S.,” Pistorius told the German news agency dpa.
Pistorius is not the only prominent figure who is none-too-thrilled with Trump's directive. It also is meeting skepticism at home, AP reports:
The planned withdrawal faced bipartisan resistance in Washington, with swift criticism from Democrats and concern from Republicans that it would send the “wrong signal” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose full-scale invasion of Ukraine recently entered its fifth year.
Trump’s decision comes as he seethes at European allies over their unwillingness to join his campaign with Israel against Iran. He has lashed out at leaders like Merz, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
After swift pushback from Democrats on Friday, Republican leaders of both armed services committees in Congress said Saturday they were “very concerned” about the troop withdrawal.
Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Mike Rogers of Alabama said the decision risked “undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin.”
They also said the Pentagon had decided to cancel the planned deployment of the Army’s Long-Range Fires Battalion. A statement from Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell that the draw-down decision came after "thorough review" made no mention of that.
Wicker and Rogers said any significant change to the U.S. force posture in Europe warrants review and coordination with Congress.
How scattered has Trump administration planning been toward the security of Germany, one of America's longest and most loyal allies? The following from AP provides a disconcerting answer:
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said the branches of the U.S. military didn’t have prior knowledge of the decision to draw down the 5,000 troops and learned about it “in real time.”
What have we learned above? Let's do a quick review:
(1) A U.S. defense official said branches of the military did not have prior knowledge of the decision to draw down 5,000 troops, learning about it in real time;
(2) Two Republican members of Congress from Deep South, deep-red states indicated input from Congress had not been included in the draw-down decision and related plans.
Is this how a toddler in chief conducts planning for an operation that could have a major impact on global stability? That appears to be the case.
Could Wicker and Rogers lead a GOP uprising against the Trump administration's disdainful treatment of both Congress and a trusted ally? Let's consider this from an AP report on a joint statement from the Republican senators:
“We expect the Department to engage with its oversight committees in the days and weeks ahead on this decision and its implications for U.S. deterrence and trans-Atlantic security,” they said in a joint statement.
They also noted that Germany has heeded Trump’s call to shoulder more of the burden of defense spending in Europe, while giving U.S. forces access to its bases and airspace in the war against Iran.
If Trump starts losing the support of Republican senators in Mississippi and Alabama, does that mean his regime could be heading for collapse? We certainly can hope so.
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