8mo ago

Donald Trump Pulling US Troops From Europe in Blow to NATO Allies: Report

www.newsweek.com

Donald Trump pulling US troops from Europe in blow to NATO allies: Report

President Donald Trump plans to pull about 20,000 U.S. troops from Europe, according to a leading Italian news agency.

A European diplomatic source told ANSA that Trump, who entered office on Monday for a second term, wants to reduce the American contingent in Europe by about 20 percent and plans to ask for a "financial contribution" for the maintenance of the remaining troops.

108 comments

As a European, I say fine and sure.
But then we also withdraw from the Plaza accords.
Ever since China has winded down their US debt holdings, we have picked up the tab and the EU countries are now the largest foreign holder of treasuries.
Time to start selling.
And also, we only buy from European defense firms, no more spending on American defense.
- what people don't understand is that europe must say goodbye to america, things are turning.
  we (europe) should start considering being more independent (from the USA) and maybe, just maybe, actually talking to our eastern neighbours.
  
  our eastern neighbours
  ... you mean Ukraine, no?
  
  Nice suggestion. Let's abandon our strongest ally who are in an identity chrisis for literal terrorists. Thanks, Lemmy.
- But then we also withdraw from the Plaza accords.
  The Plaza Accord ended in 1987. It was replaced with the Louvre Accord.
  
  You are right. But I still see most people refer to the Plaza accords. I guess those are just more well known.
- If there are no buyers for treasuries it'll tank the dollar value and go a long way to remove it's status as a reserve currency. Trump insist on rocking the boat that has been working for the US.
The US doesn't have troops in Europe to benefit Europe though. They have troops in Europe to benefit the US.
Europe should be totally fine with them leaving. Get off their territory, give up all that power projection and hamstring yourself.
What a weird thing to threaten.
- Trump is as dumb as a bucket of shit. That's why he's threatening to shoot himself in the foot.
  
  He'd cut off his own hand if you could convince him that it voted for Biden.
  
  That will depend on whether Trump knows Putin has something planned for Europe now that his lapdog is in the White House
- Well i argue that it's more complicated than that ... Europe really did profit tremendously from the relationship with the USA after WW2, but now ... not so much anymore, i guess. If one looks at recent developments.
I would appreciate if we could maybe not spit in the face of our allies at every available opportunity.
- Nazis do that, and they've hijacked America for the time being.
wants to reduce the American contingent in Europe by about 20 percent and plans to ask for a "financial contribution" for the maintenance of the remaining troops.
Eat a dick, USA. Some partner. Maybe they’ll leave late like they showed up late for WWII after waffling about which side to join.
- After the door hits them in the arse on their way out, be sure to repatriate all the land for those US bases. Make them pay 300% more for the land, after this term if they want to come back.
  And use whatever money is saved to bolster one's own national military. We can't rely on the US any more for defence.
Fair enough. The less US military presence in Europe the better. We shouldn't be reliant on the US for our security needs. European and NATO nations need to make sure they're pulling their weight.
- European and NATO nations need to make sure they’re pulling their weight.
  Which is something that every President starting with Bill Clinton has been saying but the EU has had its fingers stuck in its ears while going "La la la I can't year you!". They learned nothing from the Yugoslav Wars, didn't wake up for Crimea and it took extreme clanging of the alarm bells to get them to respond to Russo-Ukrainian War.
  The EU has more people than the United States with an economy well capable of providing for common defense. It's time for them to quit faffing about and get to it. The US was never supposed to be the eternal linchpin of NATO.
  Obligatory: Donald Trump is a cancer.
  
  There is a reason Russia does not want Ukraine to join the EU. Even the pretty bad state of the EU militaries ends up with a fighting force which is larger then Russias and has some pretty good tech. The issue is mostly organizing it all.
- That's easier said than done. We have too few people in the military and our equipment is old and sparse.
  
  Sounds like military spending is gonna have to go up then!
  
  Well gettchyo ass in gear and join the party for your own good
Given his threats towards Greenland i'd be happy to not have a hundred thousand US troops all over Europe to wreak havoc, if Trump decides to invade.
Also Europe has been a staging area for US invasions, wars and drone muders long enough.
- You aren't wrong but leaving out the bit about how much Europe has benefitted from the USA's military machine is sorta disingenous.
  
  How did the EU benefit from the US military machine?
  The only argument i can see would be deterrence, however it also seemed to have weakened the EUs resolve to build its on independent force. The US destabilizations in West Asia have brought us Daesh and millions of refugees, which were exploited by the far right to rise to power in many EU countries, now working to destroy the EU from within and often favorable to Putin.
  
  I don't think it's disingenuous. Omission of context in specific criticism doesn't invalidate said criticism.
  A comment doesn't necessarily claim full disclosed assessment and weighing.
  The comment didn't look back. It mentioned recent happening and is looking forward.
"financial contribution"
That doesn't sound mafia-like at all.
Can't wait to see our country join the bad guys in WW3. Exciting stuff
- I see finally my stick stocks are gonna pay!
  Maybe I should diversify into rocks as well.
- Which country?
  
  Y’ know, OUR country.
  
  Well, it's an article about trump pulling troops out of Europe, so pretty safe to conclude im from the U.S.
Good riddance, we tried to get them out of Germany for decades. American soldiers off base are the worst. Drunk driving their oversized trucks, starting fights in village pubs, and generally being aggressive and obnoxious. And whenever something actually happens, they are picked up by on-base military police, get a slap on the wrist, and keep at it. Due to some bs agreement they are untouchable by German police, and only really end up in court if someone died.
- Due to some bs agreement they are untouchable by German police, and only really end up in court of someone died.
  Anna Sacoolas killed a kid with their car leaving a US airbase in the UK - she fucked off back to the US claiming diplomatic immunity so she couldn't face charges. So they don't even always end up in court.
  
  Yep, it's the only instance where they might, but even then it's no guarantee. Closing the bases would be awesome for anyone but landlords in the areas who are charging extortionate rates to base personal rather than offering affordable housing to locals.
- This is why we don't allow foreign bases in France. Also, alliances are frail and cannot be depended on
- and only really end up in court of someone died.
  That this is a known thing that happens is really tragic.
I say pull them all, that would cripple their power projection towards Africa, Europe and the Middle East, and move forward with the creation of a EU Army.
- Maybe. I think this supports Putin's goals more than anything.
  Something to keep an eye on is the AEGIS Ashore platforms in Poland and Romania. These are ICBM tracking and interception facilities, part of the US MDA's Missile Defense System, and their specific purpose in being where they are is to defend Europe from Russian missiles. You can bet Putin would love to see them gone. If you see any news about reduced US military or MDA presence in those countries, you should be worried.
  
  Yes, but only if the EU doesn't immediately replace the vacuum with their own forces.
  (Do any of the EU nations have nukes that aren't owned by the US? Sadly such a deterrent is probably a requirement.)
  
  Germany is buying Arrow3, which is anti ICBM.
As an American, I could get on board for lower military spending, fewer people deployed, and Europe building up their own defense to make up the difference.
But I don’t trust for one second that Trump is doing this for anything good. Maybe Putin thinks Europe will pay less attention to him if they have to make up for lost American defenses.
- Well, right now Putin is the only one Europe needs to be defended from, so they will still devote full attention. More, probably, since Europe will be forced to hasten the military policy renewal
It’s time for Europe to defend itself.
- It has been high time to get rid of all and any US reliance when that orange fascist Muppet got elected the the first time.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out you fucking loser
When will the US-made fighter jets stop working?
- They're planning on adding a paywall to their startup.
  
  The pilot has to yell "I'M LOVIN' IT" into the radio with sufficient enthusiasm otherwise the landing gear won't come down.
- I wonder that too. Hiding a kill switch deep within the F-35 is just the kind of shit our government would do. Maybe make the kill switch only able to be activated by something in the F-22, so it won’t ever be relevant unless things go really sideways.
  
  You don't need such a thing. Aviation is very strict about safety, and once your more thorough tasks come due, you're reliant on the manufacturer anyways. If said manufacturer just says "sorry bud, can't help you", you gave a very expensive heap of unusable equipment
MMW: He'll soon need every single fighter at home.
Don't threaten us with a good time
Let me expand a bit on that idea: get the fuck out! Go away.
I wonder. Maybe Putin and Trump had a backroom deal that if US pulls out of Europe, then Putin will go on the negotiating table to end the war in Ukraine, and Trump is using the argument of "free riding Europeans" as convenient pretext. Trump is showing to Putin that the West is de-escalating by withdrawing American troops. After all, the Russian president is complaining of NATO encroachment. American troop withdrawal is indeed evidence for de-escalation.
Then at the same time, Trump wants to pivot against China. The US troops in Europe could be redeployed to Asia.
This is simply my speculation and there could be more to this than we would know publicly.
- also a good reason to make such a fuss about greenland:
  well if they won't let us protect them, perhaps we should just leave NATO...
  smoke mirrors and bullshit, it's all they have
  
  Trump is not as dumb as people make him out to be (he would not remain a billionaire if he's that dumb), I reckon he's got some sort of plan (or rather a concept of a plan). His wildcard, unpredictable foreign policy harkens back to Gaullism, when Charles De Gaulle pulled France out of NATO, because he is simply annoyed by the Anglos, and France is being France who loves being maverick pursuing its own independent interest. In the end, France pulling out of NATO was a nothingburger, because France has still been a nominal military ally of the West throughout and France eventually returned to NATO. That being said, Trump could be doing something similar and maybe he doesn't even realise it. Trump's current wildcard foreign policy is still driven by nationalist self-interests, which is follows oddly similar pattern to De Gaulle's.
can this happen in asia too please
- Asia has a Chinese Taiwan threat. It's a very different situation to Europe.
  What do you want to happen or change in Asia? Removing troops from where and to what degree?
  
  It's a source of friction with locals in Japan for sure, particularly in Okinawa.
  
  i want jennifer laude to be alive
That would be nice. Let's see if it actually happens.
Honestly? Sure. The NATO shield will still exist so it doesn't affect the security of European countries much, and it only reduces American military influence abroad by reducing their capabilities to respond to events in the region, so what do we care? We should be investing more in defense regardles of whether the Americans pull out or not.
Well that could be tough for Europe to quickly adapt to ... but ok.
Will they pull out of Greenland?
Donald Trump is going to kill millions, maybe billions of people in the long run from the collective effort of all his combined actions, and it sounds like the majority of people will be applauding the entire time right up to the very moment it's their head on the block. Tankies, conservatives, and centrists cheer as Earth burns.
The US uses their military bases to extend their sphere of influence: which makes me think that maybe they should pay the host countries not viceversa. If they invade Greenland the number of their bases in the EU will go to zero.

108 comments