NATO Chief Says U.S. Offered Europe Assurances on Troop Changes
NATO Chief Says U.S. Offered Europe Assurances on Troop Changes
(Bloomberg) -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the U.S. assured its alliance partners that it would consult them on changes to the deployment of American troops in Europe after a plan to cut their numbers in Germany sewed confusion.
Stoltenberg said U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper made the pledge during a video conference Wednesday with his counterparts from the 30-nation North Atlantic Treaty Organization. President Donald Trump on Monday unexpectedly announced a plan to reduce American forces in Germany by a quarter, a move that left governments across Europe seeking more details.
“Allies addressed the announcement from the United States about the intention of reducing the U.S. military presence in Germany,” Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels after the defense ministers’ talks. “We had a good discussion and Secretary Esper stated very strongly that, of course, the U.S. stays committed to European security and the United States will consult with other allies as we move forward.”
Trump’s plan to cut the number of American troops in Germany to 25,000 marks the latest in a series of cases where he wrong-footed U.S. allies in Europe, raising further questions about the cohesiveness of the transatlantic partnership.
Another example was the abrupt U.S. drawdown of forces in Syria last year, a move that effectively gave a green light for a Turkish military incursion to clear out Kurdish forces who had been guarding Islamic State militants.
The main item of business for the NATO defense ministers Wednesday was an agreement to step up deterrence measures -- including air and missile defenses -- to counter a greater Russian missile threat. Answering a reporter’s question afterward about the planned U.S. troop reduction in Germany, Stoltenberg said the Trump administration had yet to settle on the details.
“No final decision has been made on how and when to implement the U.S. intention,” he said.
On Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison told reporters there was no timeline and “nothing firm” regarding the plan.
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