Almost every second German favours the withdrawal of US forces based there.
BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
This is according to a poll conducted on behalf of the German Press Agency, taken prior to the NATO summit, at which US President Donald Trump accused Berlin of relying on Washington’s protection and not contributing enough.
At least 42% of Germans are ready to see 35,000 US troops return home. Only 37% wanted to see US troops stay in Germany in some capacity. The remaining 21% were not decided.
The call for withdrawal is especially strong among left-leaning voters, with 67% supporting the move. Some 55% of Alternative for Germany right-wing backers also called for the removal of US forces. The Greens also supported the removal of the troops at 48%
The US troops served as a guarantor of West Germany’s security during the Cold War.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the US refused to abandon its bases in a unified Germany and kept thousands of troops at the heart of Europe.
With the ongoing changes in the transatlantic alliance driven by Donald Trump’s determination to cut spending on military support of US allies, the administration has reportedly hinted that it might be ready to reduce troops in Germany.
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“Germany does a lot for NATO,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said at the recent summit in Brussels, after Trump accused Berlin of being held captive by Russia.
“Germany is the second largest provider of troops, the largest part of our military capacity is offered to NATO and until today we have a strong engagement towards Afghanistan. In that we also defend the interests of the United States.”
Trump recently called on the NATO allies to meet the 2% defense spending goals “immediately”(not by 2024, as originally agreed), to help the US share the burden of running the military alliance.
