YEREVAN, Armenia — European leaders on Monday said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s snap decision to pull thousands of U.S. troops out of Germany came as a surprise but is a fresh sign that Europe must take care of its own security.
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The Pentagon announced last week that it would pull some 5,000 troops out of Germany, but Trump told reporters on Saturday that “we’re going to cut way down. And we’re cutting a lot further than 5,000.”
He offered no reason for the move, which blindsided NATO, but his decision came amid an escalating dispute with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the U.S-Israeli war on Iran, and Trump’s anger that European allies have been reluctant to get involved in the conflict in the Middle East.
Asked about the decision to pull out 5,000 troops from Germany, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said: “I wouldn’t exaggerate that because I think we are expecting that Europe is taking more charge of its own security.
“I do not see those figures as dramatic, but I think they should be handled in a harmonious way inside the framework of NATO,” he told reporters in Yerevan, Armenia, where European leaders are holding a summit.
The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said “there has been a talk about withdrawal of U.S. troops for a long time from Europe. But of course, the timing of this announcement comes as a surprise.”
“I think it shows that we have to really strengthen the European pillar in NATO,” she said.
BloodletterUK on May 4th, 2026 at 10:30 UTC »
This demonstrates a lack of strategic vision in the USA and shows how decision making and policy is now a product of Trump's mood on a given day. For example, he placed special tariffs on Switzerland just because he didn't like something that the Swiss leader said. Now he doesn't like something Merz said about the Iran war and he has decided to withdraw troops. Next week he will do something else.
Obama scaled down troop deployment in Europe in order to pivot to Asia. Trump's withdrawal of troops would be understandable if he was still following this kind of strategy, but he's not; troops have been removed from the Asia-Pacific region too in order to be sent to the Middle East. So, is he moving troops from Germany as part of some Middle East strategy or is it because he got out of the wrong side of bed?
Given his record of loose talk and flip-flopping on tariffs, I think the answer is clear.
EfficientActivity on May 4th, 2026 at 08:04 UTC »
The only thing worse than having no friends is having friends you can't trust.
JiggyWivIt on May 4th, 2026 at 07:49 UTC »
One would think they would not need any more proof by now.