Another group of House Republicans is urging President Donald Trump against drawing down the number of US troops in Germany, according to a letter obtained by CNN Monday, a request that comes one day after White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien penned an op-ed explaining the administration’s reasoning for the reduction of American forces in the country.
The letter also follows a similar request from more than 20 Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee, including the panel’s chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry, earlier this month asking the White House to reconsider its plan to withdraw roughly 9,500 US troops from Germany.
There are approximately 34,000 US troops currently stationed in Germany.
The latest group of Republican lawmakers – led by Rep. Michael McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, an Air Force veteran – argue that reducing the number of US troops in Germany will negatively impact the North Atlantic Treat Organization’s ability to deter Russian aggression.
“As Republican Members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we write today to express our concern over your administration’s plans to significantly reduce the number of American servicemembers stationed in Germany,” the letter states.
“This is not the time to take any action that might cause the (Russian President Vladimir) Putin regime to question the credibility of the NATO deterrent or might lead our NATO allies and partners to doubt the U.S. commitment to our collective security,” it adds, noting Russia “has yet to restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, and its malign activities across the continent have continued unabated.”
The Republican lawmakers go on to express concern about the lack of coordination with key US allies about the decision to implement a substantial reduction of US military personnel stationed in Germany.
“We are troubled that many of our allies had not been consulted on U.S. force re-posturing. To ensure that free and open societies triumph over the likes of Vladimir Putin’s regime and the Chinese Communist Party, the United States must continue to build and maintain a united coalition of likeminded allies. The withdrawal of thousands of troops from Germany will only complicate this crucial effort and in turn place U.S. national security at risk,” it says.
Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told CNN in a statement Tuesday, “The department is working options with U.S. European Command consistent with the President’s directive. As outlined in the National Defense Strategy, force posture and employment must be adaptable to account for the uncertainty that exists in the changing global strategic environment. As we evaluate force posture options, the department’s priorities are to enhance deterrence against Russia, strengthen NATO, reassure our Allies, and give the United States greater strategic and operational flexibility consistent with the NDS.”
On Sunday, O’Brien wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the troop reduction in Germany was essential in order to “counter China and Russia, two great-power competitors, U.S. forces must be deployed abroad in a more forward and expeditionary manner than they have been in recent years.”
“This is the main reason the U.S. will reduce its permanently stationed force in Germany from 34,500 troops to 25,000,” he added.
However, the Republican lawmakers argue that reducing the number of troops in Germany will actually hurt the US amid an emerging competition with Russia and China by harming relations with key strategic allies.
“With the return of great power competition, the United States once again finds itself squaring off against authoritarian regimes in Russia and China which actively seek to sow division between the United States and its allies and partners. Our adversaries understand that the American alliance network is at the heart of the U.S. comparative advantage and will seek to exploit any cracks in transatlantic ties,” their letter states.
While defense officials had weighed moving some forces from Germany in the past, several US and NATO officials told CNN earlier this month that the size and timing of the reduction were unexpected.
Committee aides told CNN that the intent of the letter was not to snub Trump but to engage the administration on the issue before the decision is set in stone and the withdrawal plans finalized.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg seems to confirm that the details of the withdrawal have yet to be agreed upon, saying at an alliance defense ministerial last week “that no final decision has been taken on when and how this intention of reducing US troops in Germany will be implemented.”
Aides said that members of Congress had not been consulted prior to news of the decision breaking in the press, a decision that was later confirmed by Trump.
Defense officials and congressional aides tell CNN that NATO’s easternmost members are particularly concerned about the proposed drawdown, and that the large reductions from Germany are unlikely to be offset by any additional US troop deployments to countries like Poland, which lack the infrastructure to house the type of forces being pulled from Germany.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Poland’s President this week.