But in an interview on Tuesday for the German Marshall Fund of the United States, a U.S.-headquartered think tank, Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted that Germany had no confirmation of Trump’s plan, which was reported first by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, and then confirmed by POLITICO and other news organizations.
„First of all, there’s no official confirmation of these plans,“ Kramp-Karrenbauer said when asked about the plan during the live-streamed interview on Tuesday. „The story has only been published in one media outlet, and as long as we don’t have an official confirmation, no reaction is needed.“
Her remarks were surprising because NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg spoke with Trump by telephone on Monday, and a NATO official said that they had discussed the „U.S. military posture in Europe as they always do.“
There was no indication that Trump consulted or briefed NATO officials or allies about his plan beforehand. And Trump’s penchant for blindsiding allies with unilateral action, such as his announcement of a withdrawal of U.S. forces from northeast Syria in November, has drawn criticism from other leaders.
In response to the Syria pullout, which put the U.S. in conflict with Turkey, another NATO ally, French President Emmanuel Macron said that NATO was experiencing „brain death.“
During the German Marshall Fund interview, Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted that Germany remained in contact with other allies.
„We are of course in close communication with our partners at all levels, especially with the Pentagon,“ she said. „For us, it is quite clear that the presence of American troops is important for Germany. It is important for NATO. But it is likewise important for the United States’ own security and this has always been an asset to the White House policy and so far nothing has changed.“
Germany’s top defense official did not explain why these contacts had not provided official clarity on such an important matter.
Kramp-Karrenbauer said she did not doubt the U.S. commitment to NATO but noted that it was a presidential election year in America, and suggested that was a factor in recent developments.
„We assume the loyalty of all NATO partners,“ she said. „There is no question about that, and we see some common interests that still apply. These are the interests that the Ministry of Defense and the Pentagon in particular both share. We participate jointly in numerous missions, for example in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the world.“
She added, „Yes, we can see at the moment that the election campaign is gaining momentum in America, and this is also a time of some very special domestic political discussion at the moment in the U.S.“
A senior State Department official said the plan to pull troops out of Germany was pushed by former U.S. ambassador to Germany, Ric Grenell. „It was not an inter-agency discussed, broadly socialized decision,“ the official said.
Current and former U.S. military officials in Washington and in Europe said the Department of Defense had not been notified in advance of Trump’s decision to withdraw the troops from Germany. Retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, a former commander of U.S. Army Europe, called the decision a „colossal mistake.“
The powerful chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which oversees military policy, was also caught completely off-guard by the decision — and said he learned about it even after Germany, because his phone was broken all weekend.
The chairman, Republican Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma, told POLITICO that a reduction in forces was such a bad idea that he could not believe Trump would order it, especially given the president’s affection for U.S. troops. Inhofe said he disagreed with the pull-out and blamed Trump’s national security adviser, Robert O’Brien, for the decision.
“He has a passionate love for our troops and he would not do anything that would impose an unbearable hardship on our troops,” Inhofe said, adding: “That came from O’Brien. He signed it. That’s what I understand.”
But even as he defended Trump, Inhofe complained that he was not told anything in advance. “I’m the last one to find out about it,” he said. “I should have been the first one … I had a malfunction with my phone over the weekend and I’ve been paying dearly for it ever since.”
Inhofe said he hoped Trump would not follow through. “I just know that that would not be something that he would initiate because I know him too well,” he said.
A White House read-out of the call between Trump and Stoltenberg on Monday made no mention of the issue of troop levels in Europe, but referred to Trump’s desire for NATO to increase its operations in the Middle East, which he has pushed for since the targeted killing by the U.S. of the Iranian general, Qassem Soleimani.
„The president and the secretary general discussed close cooperation between NATO allies on defeating the coronavirus pandemic and strengthening our resilience,“ a White House spokesman said. „The two leaders also discussed progress on NATO increasing its role in counterterrorism and stabilization efforts in the Middle East, as well as the latest developments in Afghanistan. The president and the secretary general agreed that the Taliban must reduce violence and all parties should move swiftly to begin intra-Afghan negotiations toward a political settlement.“
Stoltenberg, asked about Trump’s plan during a public event before the phone call on Monday, said he would not comment on „media leaks“ or „media speculation“ and then reverted to a point he has repeatedly made, that the U.S. military presence in Europe has increased during Trump’s time in office.
A NATO official said U.S. force levels have shifted periodically over the years.
„In general, we have seen that the U.S. presence in Europe has been constantly adjusted over the last decades,“ the official said. „It went down after the Cold War, but over the last few years, the U.S. has strengthened its military presence in Europe, and not just in Germany.“
Nahal Toosi, Martin Matishak and Lara Seligman contributed reporting from Washington.
Source: politico.com
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