House Republicans oppose withdrawing US troops
from Germany
The Armed Services missive marks the largest
Republican effort so far to convince the administration to change course.
By CONNOR
O'BRIEN 6/9/20, 11:31 PM CET
WASHINGTON
— U.S. Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday warned
President Donald Trump against withdrawing American troops from Germany.
In a
letter, 22 lawmakers led by Republican Representative Mac Thornberry argued
reducing and capping troop levels in Europe would undermine the NATO alliance
and spur aggression by Russia.
"We
believe that such steps would significantly damage U.S. national security as
well as strengthen the position of Russia to our detriment," wrote the GOP
lawmakers.
The Wall
Street Journal reported last week that Trump has directed the removal of more
than a quarter of the nearly 35,000 troops stationed in Germany over the coming
months and to cap the U.S. presence there at 25,000 troops.
The
administration has come under criticism from lawmakers in both parties. The
Armed Services missive marks the largest Republican effort so far to convince
the administration to change course. In addition to concerns over Russia, the
GOP hawks argued capping the U.S. troop presence in Germany would impede
military training and logistics.
"In
Europe, the threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that
signs of a weakened U.S. commitment to NATO will encourage further Russian
aggression and opportunism," they wrote.
"In
addition, the overall limit on troops would prevent us from conducting the
exercises that are necessary for the training and readiness of our forces and
those of our allies," said the lawmakers. "The troop limit would also
significantly reduce the number of U.S. forces that can flow through Germany
for deployment to bases around the world, causing serious logistical
challenges."
Trump's
term has been marked by conflict with NATO allies as he pushed for member
nations to significantly boost spending on their own militaries and cast the
alliance as outdated.
Republicans
said the alliance should "spread its costs more equitably" but warned
NATO's "work is not done."
"[W]e
believe that our continued strong involvement in the alliance is fundamental to
our nation's security and integral to protecting our people," they wrote.
" Withdrawals and limitations of the kind being reported would make that
job more difficult."
Authors:
Connor O'Brien
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