Trump has a new target in Europe – and there is a price for speaking up |
Trump has a new target in Europe – and there is a price for speaking up
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London: When dealing with Donald Trump, speaking your mind can come at a cost. So German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is being blasted by the US president after revealing his thoughts about the war with Iran.
Merz, a conservative who usually avoids clashing with Trump, declared on Monday that America was being “humiliated” by Iran and had no clear way out of the conflict.
Trump, clearly furious on social media, threatened retaliation. But rather than resorting to tariffs, his preferred tool in the past, he raised the idea of withdrawing US troops from German bases they have used for decades.
Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of war, followed up within a day. He moved on Friday afternoon in Washington (early on Saturday, AEST) to remove an army brigade from Germany, or about 5000 troops, over the next year. He is also reported to be halting a plan from the Biden administration to deploy a battalion to Germany with long-range conventional missiles.
Suddenly, a foundation stone of the Western alliance is in doubt. No country in Europe has more American troops than Germany. With 49,000 military and civilian personnel, the country has more American defence service members on active duty than many US states.
The Pentagon changes appear to have been in the works for months, so they are not happening simply because the German chancellor spoke up. Trump has complained about troop numbers in Germany for years, including in his first term as president, and now sees a chance to do something.
Even so, the timing suggests that the frank talk in Germany made Trump more eager to act. And the defence decision came when the president slapped higher tariffs on European cars, also hurting Germany.
Merz angered Trump because he lanced the presidential hyperbole about the war.
“The Iranians are clearly stronger than expected, and the Americans clearly have no truly convincing strategy in the negotiations either,” the........