WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s choice to cut U.S. troop levels in Germany blindsided a variety of senior nationwide security officials, according to 5 sources familiar with the matter, and the Pentagon had yet to get a formal order to bring it out, Reuters has actually discovered.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks throughout a roundtable conversation with police in the State Dining-room at the White Home in Washington, U.S., June 8,2020 REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
Trump chose to eliminate 9,500 troops from Germany, one of America’s strongest allies, minimizing the number there to 25,000 from 34,500, a senior U.S. authorities said on Friday.
That official said it was the result of months of work by the U.S. military leadership and had nothing to do with tensions in between Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who prevented his plan to host an in-person Group of 7 (G7) summit this month.
However other sources knowledgeable about the matter said a variety of U.S. officials at the White Home, State Department and Pentagon were amazed by the choice and they offered explanations ranging from Trump’s pique over the G7 to the impact of Richard Grenell, the former U.S. ambassador to Germany and a Trump patriot.
Reuters could not determine if Grenell had played a direct function with Trump in the decision-making. Grenell resigned his post on June 1, according to a State Department spokesperson.
The Defense and State Departments referred questions to the White Home National Security Council, which decreased comment.
Requested for remark, Grenell stated that “this is all chatter” and decreased to address particular concerns about the d