This is what sensible people would refer to as “a good start.”– For starters, President Donald Trump (I still never tire of typing those three glorious words in that order) announced this morning that the United States of by-God America is pulling 12,000 troops out of Germany. For those keeping count, that is fully 3,000 more troops than Trump indicated he would be pulling out of that country when the topic was first raised a few weeks ago.
Even better is the reason the President gave for making the move:
"Germany's delinquent," said Pres Trump, asked about decision to pull 12,000 US forces out of Germany. "They haven't paid their
@NATO fees…and they have no intention of paying it," he says of Germany. "Why why would we keep all of those troops there?" he asks.
pic.twitter.com/6Iwj4UFWgN
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller)
July 29, 2020 Beautiful. Wonderful. Absolutely glorious.
More detail from a
report at Politico:
The Pentagon on Wednesday laid out a plan to shift nearly 12,000 service members out of Germany after President Donald Trump repeatedly said the country was “delinquent” on defense spending.
Top defense leaders said the plan, which would bring 6,400 service members home and reposition nearly 5,600 to other countries in Europe, is part of the Pentagon’s broader effort to redistribute U.S. forces across the world to better compete with new threats from Russia and China. The move will leave 24,000 troops in Germany, where the United States has stationed a significant number of forces since the end of the Cold War.
More at:
https://dbdailyupdate.com/index.php/...-from-germany/
The United States said Thursday it would reduce troops in Iraq in the coming months as friction between the two countries eased under a new US-friendly premier in Baghdad.
In a joint statement, the United States said that the reason for its military’s return to Iraq in 2014 — defeating extremists from the Islamic State group — had made major headway.
“The two countries recognized that in light of significant progress towards eliminating the ISIS threat, over the coming months the US would continue reducing forces from Iraq,” a joint statement said.
“The United States reiterated that it does not seek nor request permanent bases or a permanent military presence in Iraq.”
The coalition has already consolidated to just three bases in recent months, down from a dozen.
More at: https://www.breitbart.com/middle-eas...over-a-decade/
The U.S. pointed out that they had already withdrawn half of their forces from Iraq since the start of the new year.
Reuters reports Friday:
Western military trainers are expected to remain in Iraq, but it is not clear how many. The United States has had around 5,000 troops stationed in the country, and coalition allies another 2,500.
An earlier newsflash by Iraq’s state news agency cited Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi as saying there would be a total withdrawal of troops. The article was later removed.
More at: https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitic...ermanent-bases
Ruger, a Naval Reserve officer who served a year in Afghanistan a decade ago, is aligned with the president’s thinking about the U.S. footprint in the Middle East and the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, and has been especially vocal about getting out of Afghanistan.
“President Trump has correctly concluded that a full and speedy withdrawal of our troops is imperative,” he wrote in the American Interest in late May. “Our national interest isn’t served by continuing to wage a futile battle but by exiting it.”
The US is well ahead of its pullout schedule, down to about 8,500 troops in Afghanistan. Officials sayt hey want 4,000 by the election, and some are saying a complete pullout is possible by then.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/...edy-withdrawal
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