31 minutes agoAmerican General of NATO says withdrawing American troops from Europe will last for years
Periskopi(a month ago)
(a month ago)The United States will attract more troops from Europe, but this process will last for years to give allies time to develop the capacities needed to replace them, the top commander of the army said on Tuesday. NATO.
US Air Force General Alexandrus Grinkewich spoke after the decisions of US President Donald Trump's administration to withdraw about 5,000 troops from Germany and cancel the delocation of the long-range Tomahawk missiles, reports Reuters, broadcast the newspaper Express.
European officials were surprised by the timing of the announcement of troop withdrawal, as well as the link American officials made with the criticism of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the American strategy in fighting Iran.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of NATO military chiefs in Brussels, Grinkewich said it was the only such movement he knew about “in the short term” and that it would not affect the alliance's ability to implement its defence plans.
European governments say they have taken Trump's calls to spend more on defence and take more responsibility for the continent's security seriously. However, they fear that a rapid withdrawal of American troops and weapons could leave Europe vulnerable to a military attack from Russia, even though Moscow denies it has any such intention.
The retreat will last for years
Grinkewich said there will be further withdrawals of American troops from Europe, where there are currently about 80 thousand American soldiers, but this will happen gradually as European forces are strengthened to fill the gap.
“While the alliance's European pillar becomes stronger, it enables the United States to reduce its presence in Europe and limit only to providing those critical capacities that the Allies still cannot provide for themselves”, said Grinkewich, the Supreme Commander of NATO Allied Forces.
I cannot give you an exact timeline; it will be an ongoing process for several years”, he added.
He stressed that, although Europe will take on more responsibility for conventional protection, this will happen “with continued critical support from American capacities, which are adjusting”.
According to officials and analysts, NATO relies on the US for a series of key capacities, such as command and control systems, intelligence and satellite communications, strategic bombers and US nuclear shield.
