The Pentagon’s decision to cut U.S. troops in Germany from approximately 36,000 to about 24,000 isn’t the first reduction in the number of American military personnel. The numbers have been on a steady decline since the high water figure of about 300,000 during the Cold War.
But the latest move was brought about more because of personal pique on the part of President Trump rather than well-thought-out foreign policy, according to a panel of foreign policy experts.
“The president can’t stand (German Chancellor Angela Merkel). He just can’t,” said Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. “If this was a decision based on strategic considerations, it would be very rationale.”
The online discussion on Tuesday was hosted by the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference and a former German ambassador to the U.S., called the latest development in the Atlantic alliance, “not a happy story.” He agreed that Germany has been delinquent in paying its fair share, as Mr. Trump has charged.
But, the message received in the Kremlin from the latest developments is that the relationship between western Europe and the United States is in disarray, he said.
“From a Russian point of view, this is not an unwelcome decision,” Ambassador Ischinger said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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