US Troop Pullout a ‘Wake Up Call,’ But Some German Officials Are Happy With It

Polish officials express hope US will move more troops into Poland

The announced plan to withdraw 9,500 US troops from Germany has led to a quick reaction, with officials calling it a “wake up call.” They say it is a chance to loosen NATO ties with the US in general.

Among German politicians, there is a lot of question about what the lesson of this drawdown should be. Right wing officials are seeing this as an unquestionable negative, cutting historic ties to the US, and believing it benefits Russia and China.

They see it as regrettable, but Die Linke, a German leftist party, sees this as something to accept with gratitude, saying the Germans should prepare for a complete US pullout. They added that this will save taxpayers billions.

Outside of Germany, Poland is also looking closely at this. Their hope is that the US will relocate the troops to Poland, with Trump more comfortable with right-wing Poland than center-left Germany.

Author: Jason Ditz

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.