Trump Decision to Withdraw Troops from Germany Weakens Both America & Europe

Many Germans believe that Donald Trump's decision to withdraw 9,500 US troops from their nation stems from his desire to punish Chancellor Angela Merkel for a variety of insults including her recent announcement that she will not attend a Group of Seven (G7) summit Trump wanted to host while the pandemic was still raging across the world. It has always been fairly clear that Merkel believes Trump is a simpleton and a bit of a racist, and the vast majority of Germans seem to agree. The President's decision to reduce troop levels was particularly galling because he announced it without discussing it with Germany or our other NATO allies.

The President's troop withdrawal decision is short-sighted and counterproductive, and will only please Russian President Vladimir Putin and some isolationists in Trump's base. And, now even some of the President's Republican enablers in the Senate like Sens. Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio have joined with Sen. Mitt Romney and Democrats to stop the move. Sen. Chris Coons expressed their reservations.

Deseret News: “Withdrawing nearly 10,000 troops from Germany, without consulting German leadership or our other European allies does not make America any safer,” he said. “In times of domestic and international turmoil, our alliances keep us safer, healthier and more prosperous. A hasty arbitrary withdrawal only emboldens our adversaries.”

And, former assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, Philip Gordon is even more critical of how Trump has handled the matter. NATO was created to protect American interests as well as those of our allies in Europe. Weakening the alliance damages America's future security and furthers Russia's ambitions on the continent.

CFR, Gordon: "Trump’s repeated allegations that allies “owe” the United States for failing to meet their budgetary commitments misunderstand how NATO works. The United States does not get paid by other allies for contributing to European defense; it does so because it sees a national interest in a secure, stable, and prosperous Europe. Trump’s approach to the issue also fails to take into account the benefits of deploying U.S. forces closer to the hot spots—such as the Middle East, where they are most often needed—on real estate that is provided free of cost by the German government and using infrastructure subsidized by German taxpayers."...   

... "What could be catastrophic is an unplanned and unilateral withdrawal, driven in part by pique, that sends a message to allies and adversaries alike that the United States is no longer committed to European defense. By questioning the sanctity of the U.S. defense guarantee in Europe, treating NATO as a protection racket, and unilaterally diminishing America’s ability to uphold that guarantee, Trump is effectively signaling that an attack on a NATO ally would not necessarily be met with a U.S. response. That should be deeply troubling not just to Germans but to all Europeans—as well as all Americans who understand their interests in Europe."

From a national security standpoint, another four years of Donald Trump is unthinkable. Even now, Joe Biden is going to have his hands full healing the rifts Donald Trump has created with some of our most important security allies.

#news #international relations #Trump

By: Don Lam & Curated Content