US Ambassador Richard Grenell has not made a lot of friends during his
time in Germany, where he has repeatedly issued demands, usually to
increase military spending. On Friday, he did so again, threatening to withdraw US troops from Germany if the Germans don’t start spending more on their military.
Grenell said it was “offensive” for the US to keep troops in Germany
while Germans “get to spend their surplus on domestic programs.” The US
Ambassador to Poland suggested the US troops should move to Poland.
German officials have consistently made clear they have no intention of
meeting US demands to spend 2% of their GDP on their military,and see no
need to attempt to do so. This has been consistent despite the US
repeatedly threatening repercussions for not meeting that demand.
There’s no reason to think this will be any different. Last year, a
major poll by Germany’s DPA news agency showed German voters not only
oppose increases in military spending, but actually prefer that US troops leave the country.
Spend More on Military or We Move Troops to Poland, US Envoy Tells Germany
Polls show Germans prefer US troops to leave anyhow
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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