Foreign policy expert Sevim Dagdelen from the BSW party (formerly the Union for Reason and Justice „Sahra Wagenknecht“) welcomed the announcement of the withdrawal of 5,000 US soldiers from Germany, saying that this decision is long overdue.
„Finally: 5,000 fewer US soldiers in Germany! It is long overdue. The approximately 40,000 US soldiers and the US nuclear weapons in Büchel should not be here. We can no longer afford this costly and peace-threatening military presence,” Dugdelen wrote in X.
“It’s time to end the allegiance!” she declared.
About 38,000 US troops are stationed in Germany. This is the largest contingent of US forces in Europe.
Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Sean Parnell announced that Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the withdrawal of 5,000 US troops from Germany. He said the troop withdrawal was expected to be completed within the next six to twelve months.
On April 29, US President Donald Trump said that the US was considering reducing its military contingent stationed in Germany and would make a decision soon. In response to questions from journalists on April 30, the White House leader suggested that the United States could reduce the number of troops not only in Germany, but also in Italy and Spain. The American leader did not specify why the administration might take such a step, but the statement came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized Washington's military campaign against Iran, citing the lack of a clear US strategy. On April 28, Trump accused Merz of allegedly “considering Iran's nuclear weapons acceptable“.