Afrasianet - The U.S. Department of Defense plans to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany, amid a dispute between U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the war with Iran.
The decision comes a day after Trump criticized Meretz, who believes the United States has been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators.
The United States has a large military presence in Germany, with more than 36,000 active-duty troops stationed at bases across Germany.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius stated that "the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and in Germany in particular, is both in our interest and in the interest of the United States."
At the same time, Pistorius explained in his statements to the German news agency in Berlin that the decision was not surprising, noting that it was "expected" that the United States would withdraw its troops from Europe, including Germany.
On social media platforms, Trump said Meretz was "doing a terrible job" and that he had "problems on every front," including immigration and energy.
Trump also did not rule out the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Italy and Spain as well.
Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Pentagon, announced that the decision on US troops in Germany had been issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
"This decision follows a thorough review of the positioning of U.S. forces in Europe, and comes in response to the requirements of theater of operations and conditions on the ground," Parnell said in a statement.
"We expect the withdrawal to be completed in six to twelve months," Parnell added.
President Trump has been critical of NATO members, attacking his allies for refusing to participate in operations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked Thursday whether he would consider withdrawing U.S. troops from Italy and Spain, Trump replied, "Maybe I'll look into it, why not?"
"Italy did not provide us with any help and Spain was terrible," the US president added, criticizing the two countries' stance on the war with Iran.
"In any case, they told us, 'We don't want to get involved,'" Trump said.
'The entire nation' has been 'humiliated'
Earlier this week, Meretz said in a meeting with university students that "it is clear that the Americans do not have a strategy," and therefore he cannot see "what strategic outcome" they might choose.
"The Iranians have shown great skill in negotiating, or rather in not negotiating; they have made the Americans move to Islamabad and come back with nostalgia," the German chancellor added.
In doing so, Meretz argued that "the entire nation" had been "humiliated" by the Iranian leadership.
In response to these remarks, Trump took to his platform Truth Social where he said that Meretz "doesn't see anything wrong with Iran having a nuclear weapon" and that he "frowns about what he doesn't know."
In light of this, Trump said, "It is no wonder that Germany has performed so poorly, both economically and whatever."
The BBC has reached out to the German embassy in Washington for comment.
The U.S. military presence in Germany is the largest in Europe, with about 12,000 U.S. troops in Italy and about 10,000 in the United Kingdom.
Most U.S. troops are stationed in Germany at Ramstein Air Base southwest of the city of Kaiserslautern in the state of Renania-Platina.
Trump has previously proposed reducing the U.S. military presence in Germany, but has so far failed to implement it on the ground.
Japan is the only country to host more U.S. troops than Germany.
In 2020, the U.S. Congress rejected a proposal to move 12,000 U.S. troops from Germany to other NATO countries in Europe or return them to the U.S. — before President Joe Biden rescinded the proposal.
At the time, Trump was accusing Germany of "defaulting" given that its military spending fell below NATO's target of 2 percent of GDP.
But this situation has changed dramatically under the Meretz government: Germany is expected to spend €105.8 billion in 2027 – with defense spending next year of around 3.1 percent of GDP.
Last year, the United States decided to reduce its military presence in Romania, as part of Trump's plan to shift the focus of U.S. military commitment from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.
The Romanian defence minister said the decision came after Hegeseth told the Romanians that they should pay more attention to defending themselves.
The decision was not welcomed by some of Trump's Republican colleagues in Congress, and was met with concern in the capitals of other Eastern European countries that are wary of Russia.
