A peevish President Donald Trump is yanking 5,000 U.S. soldiers from NATO ally Germany amid growing friction with Europe over the president’s war in Iran.
The Pentagon announced the move Friday after Trump, 79, threatened on Truth Social two days earlier to pull troops when German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the Iranians were “humiliating” the U.S. Merz also said he was stumped by Trump’s exit strategy.
A senior Pentagon official told Reuters that Merz’s comments were “inappropriate and unhelpful,” adding: “The president is rightly reacting to these counterproductive remarks.”
A Pentagon review of U.S. troops worldwide did not recommend major reductions in Europe, Politico reported. The Pentagon “was not expecting it and has not been planning any kind of drawdown,” said a congressional aide familiar with the situation.
Trump initially claimed the war he launched two months ago would be over in a few weeks, yet the standoff continues.
Early in the war, Trump called on European allies to help the U.S. and send forces to open the Strait of Hormuz, which is critical to global oil shipments, after it was closed by Iran. But Europe has refused to engage in a war that its countries were never consulted about.
“The president has been very clear about his frustrations about our allies’ rhetoric and failure to provide support for U.S. operations that benefit them,” the Pentagon official told Reuters.
Yanking troops from Germany also fits Trump’s broader push to avoid involving America in European defense, including threatening to pull out of NATO. Critics have complained that fractures in American alliances would not only hurt Europe but also the U.S., undermining peace and stability.
The Trump administration hit a 60-day deadline on Friday, a requirement for congressional authorization of the war that Trump unilaterally launched without warning, and without lawmakers’ initial approval.
In a letter sent Friday to House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Pro Temp President Senator Chuck Grassley, the president claimed the deadline hasn’t yet passed because it has been suspended by the current ceasefire, and the hostilities have effectively been “terminated,” even though U.S. forces remain.
Congress, which left town on a week-long break on Thursday, is not expected to take any immediate action about the time lapse.
Some 35,000 active-duty American troops are stationed in Germany, the most in any European country. The drawdown is expected to take six to 12 months.
