U.S. to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany amid Trump's war of words with Merz over Iran
Trump had pledged a drawdown in forces following a skirmish with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that Washington was being "humiliated" by the Iranians in the negotiations to end the war
The United States is withdrawing 5,000 troops from Germany, the Pentagon announced on Friday, in what is understood to be a rebuke to the NATO ally amid a widening rift between President Donald Trump and Europe over the Iran war.
Trump had pledged a drawdown in forces earlier in the week following a skirmish with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that Washington was being "humiliated" by the Iranians in the negotiations to end the war.
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the withdrawal was expected to be completed over the next six to twelve months.
According to data from the U.S. Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), the U.S. has about 36,400 active-duty military personnel based in Germany.
That represents a fraction of the 250,000 U.S. service members that were based there before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Eastern Bloc and the end of the Cold War.