One of President Trump’s key points when running in the 2016 election was to bring home US Troops from the Middle East and stop the “forever wars” in which almost 7000 United States troops have been killed and upwards of 52,000 have been wounded (1) according to the US Department of Defense. This year the President has kicked this plan into action. How many troops look to come home, and how long could the withdrawal take?
Acting Defense Secretary Christopher C. Miller who took over as Acting Secretary on the 9th November, told the Pentagon that, “The United States will draw down forces in Afghanistan and Iraq by Jan. 15, 2021” (2), with the aim of cutting numbers in both Afghanistan and Iraq down to 2500 from the 4500 in Afghanistan, and the 3000 currently left in Iraq (3). Also leaving just a handful of troops to protect oil fields, particularly in the northern region of Syria.
The withdrawal of troops from the Middle East hasn’t been the President’s only concern, the President has many times shown how he believes US military presence in Germany and Europe is not properly appreciated or paid for. President Trump earlier this year told reporters at the White House, “We don’t want to be the suckers anymore, we’re reducing the force because they’re not paying their bills; it’s very simple (4)”. The agreed deal between the United States and Europe which came about in 2014 is for 2% of GDP to go towards Nato (6). The table above and the graph below are both available in Nato’s Defence Expenditure of NATO Countries (2013–2019) sourced below.
Defence Secretary Mark Esper said the withdrawal of 12,000 troops from Germany, 6,400 of which were heading back to the United States was a, “major strategic and positive shift” which would “unquestionably achieve the core principles of enhancing US and Nato deterrence of Russia” (8). However, it is of German foreign minister Heiko Maas’s belief US presence in Germany is important, not just for the security of Germany, but also the United States (9).
Perhaps it is time for European nations to chip in and fund their own military, or should the United States be expected to step up for others around the world?
-Trent Naz
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Source Section -
(1) Barrabi, T. and Tomlinson, L., 2020. US To Draw Down Troops In Afghanistan, Iraq By Jan. 15, Pentagon Says. [online] Fox News. Available at: <https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-to-draw-down-troops-in-afghanistan-iraq-by-jan-15-pentagon-says> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(2) Garamone, J., 2020. U.S. Will Draw Down Forces In Afghanistan, Iraq, Acting Secretary Says. [online] U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. Available at: <https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2418416/us-will-draw-down-forces-in-afghanistan-iraq-acting-secretary-says/> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(3) Garamone, J., 2020. U.S. Will Draw Down Forces In Afghanistan, Iraq, Acting Secretary Says. [online] U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. Available at: <https://www.defense.gov/Explore/News/Article/Article/2418416/us-will-draw-down-forces-in-afghanistan-iraq-acting-secretary-says/> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(4) BBC News. 2020. US To Withdraw 12,000 Troops From Germany In ‘Strategic’ Move. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53589245> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(5, Graph) Nato.int. 2020. Defence Expenditure Of NATO Countries (2013–2019). [online] Available at: <https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2019_11/20191129_pr-2019-123-en.pdf> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(6) Reid, D., 2020. Three Charts That Show Why Trump Thinks NATO Is A Bad Deal. [online] CNBC. Available at: <https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/03/three-charts-that-show-why-trump-thinks-nato-is-a-bad-deal.html> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(7, Table) Nato.int. 2020. Defence Expenditure Of NATO Countries (2013–2019). [online] Available at: <https://www.nato.int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2019_11/20191129_pr-2019-123-en.pdf> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(8) BBC News. 2020. US To Withdraw 12,000 Troops From Germany In ‘Strategic’ Move. [online] Available at: <https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53589245> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
(9) Oltermann, P., 2020. German Ministers Hit Back At Trump Plan To Withdraw US Troops. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/17/german-ministers-hit-back-at-trump-plan-to-withdraw-us-troops> [Accessed 22 November 2020].
