US to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany in move that will cost billions and take years

[yaesu]

Source: CNN

(CNN)The US is to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany in a move that has attracted bipartisan congressional opposition and roiled key allies who see the move as a blow to NATO.

President Donald Trump's decision to pull thousands of troops will take years to execute and will potentially cost billions of dollars to bring about, according to US defense officials.
The plan to pull US troops from the long-time NATO ally has been met with broad bipartisan opposition amid concerns that it will weaken the US military's position vis a vis Russia, however the Trump Administration has decided to proceed with the move.
Approximately 11,900 US troops, a mix of Army and Air Force units, will be removed from Germany to meet Trump's mandated cap of 25,000 US forces in Germany, according to a senior US defense official, a number higher than the figure of 9,500 that was used when the reduction was first announced.


Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/29/politics/us-withdraw-troops-germany/index.html

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on orders from putin no doubt

[C_U_L8R]

1. Putin is profit-taking while he still can.

Tick tock. Trump's time is running out.

[keithbvadu2]

16. Putting money into Trump is the best investment Putin ever made.

[Bengus81]

22. Yup...Might knock a few million $$$ off of Trumps debt to Russia

[Warpy]

2. I'm sure Dumdum thought it could be accomplished in a couple of weeks

denying Merkel and her country any extra security while freeing up a lot of heavily armed bodies to deploy to US cities with Democratic mayors.

What, somebody out there didn't realize that's what he's up to?

[Initech]

3. Putin right now:

[samsingh]

4. in a move that benefits russia

[House of Roberts]

5. Which Biden will countermand the minute he is President.

This is a futile gesture to Putin. Unless Putin gets Trump re-elected, none of this stands.

[iluvtennis]

8. +++ agree. nt

[pandr32]

18. Absolutely!

I am sure he already has key people in line to staff important agencies to strengthen our ties with Allies.
He will not waste time or make excuses.

[bringthePaine]

6. this shit's far from over - Putin will require greater obeisance from Obeasus every damn day

[ToxMarz]

7. Yada yada yada

We are going to be barraged with announcements of dramatic action by Trump that can't even begin to be done before November. Most won't be done even if Trump is reelected. None will be done if Biden wins. Just a string of cliffhanger episodes for his reality show.

[BComplex]

9. Putin is going to make a move?

WTF ??? I hope Biden stops that nonsense the minute he's finished putting his hand on the Bible and reciting the oath of office after John Roberts.

[Lonestarblue]

10. I doubt the military is in favor of this move.

They can slow walk this action for at least the next six months. You don’t just create a new base in another country and move troops there overnight. Selecting and preparing a site could easily consume three months. Creating a logistics plan can take another three months. Very easy to stall this one until a sane person is in office.

[NurseJackie]

11. Biden can fix it, cancel it, un-do it.

[UCmeNdc]

12. Notice how this is announced to Putin right before the election? Putin will now fix the election.

Putin got his guarantee announcement. Now Putin will help Trump cheat and get reelected. Unless the US wakes up and stops Putin.

[left-of-center2012]

13. Belgium and Italy, the two countries that will be receiving US troops ...

The linked article:

"Belgium and Italy, the two countries that will be receiving US troops from Germany,
spend an even a smaller percentage on defense than Berlin does."

[B Stieg]

14. Well, Russia just got more secure!

So happy for them

[Sinistrous]

15. Amazing that MF#45 manages to commit

a fresh stab in the back to the US every day.

[Stuckinthebush]

17. Biden should come out with a statement

That the US will always be a NATO member and support the NATO mission regardless of momentary lapses in understanding by the current administration. Then give a wink and say, "hold on world, a reasonable United States will be restored momentarily".

That would make Trump howl.

[Grins]

19. And Putin be all...

Yeah. We can't believe it either.

[riversedge]

20. #Trumps pal [Putin] is laughing.

[BadgerKid]

21. Wonder if private contractors are involved in the moving out.

Could be profitable.

[Bengus81]

23. Elvis is spinning in his grave!!

[OneCrazyDiamond]

24. What does germany say? n/t

[Steelrolled]

26. What say do the Germans have in the matter? /s

Actually, I'm all for getting troops out of Europe, and I think the Germans would be happy with that.

And while we are at it, let's get out of Iraq and Afghanistan.

[OneCrazyDiamond]

27. I would think that a country that hosts another military would have some say. n/t

[Steelrolled]

31. Yes, note the /s (for sarcasm) in my reply

I of course agree that Germany should have a big say. Almost all of the responses in this thread only considered the interests US and Russia, and never mentioned Germany. It shows how strong politics can be on our thinking.

Edit for typo.

[sarcasmo]

25. Vlad has spoken.

[TomVilmer]

28. Some troops could be moved to a new base in Poland...

... is one of Trump's plans, though this would be a violation of the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act.

[BigmanPigman]

29. Schilff is not too happy...

Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) Tweeted:
Guess the call with Putin went well.

For Putin.

Link to tweet

?s=20

[onetexan]

30. Yep he's doing Putin's bidding. Putin needs this done now since he knows the Idiot will lose the

November election. Destabilizing Europe/NATO is Putin's goal.