Will the US soldiers not be withdrawn from Germany after all?
The US Congress has now come to an agreement and blocked Donald Trump's plans.
Donald Trump's *
plans to partially withdraw US soldiers from Germany met with criticism from Democrats and Republicans.
Now the parties in the
US Congress have
agreed
on a legislative package - thereby blocking the massive withdrawal.
The Congress continues to value Germany as a strong
NATO partner
.
Washington, DC - The
US Congress
wants to
block the massive withdrawal of American soldiers from Germany planned
by incumbent President
Donald Trump
for the time being.
This emerges from the draft bill for the US defense budget, which Democrats and Republicans agreed in both chambers in Congress on Thursday (local time).
There it says that the
US Secretary of Defense
must state in a report to Congress whether such a withdrawal would be in the national interest of the US.
At the earliest 120 days later, the number of US soldiers stationed in the Federal Republic may fall below the limit of 34,500.
Members of the Democratic-controlled
House of Representatives *
and the Trump Republican-dominated
Senate *
agreed on Thursday on the more than 4,500-page legislative package on the defense budget for the coming year.
After being passed by the two houses of Congress in Congress, Trump must
sign
the
law
for it to come into effect.
US troop withdrawal from Germany: Trump justified step with insufficient defense spending
Trump had a
partial withdrawal of US soldiers from Germany
in June
announced and justified the step with, in his view, too low defense spending in Germany.
A total of around 12,000 soldiers were to be withdrawn.
Trump's plans met with criticism from the military, but also from his own
republican party *
.
In Congress, both the Democrats and Trump's Republicans announced opposition to the plans.
+
View of the Capitol at dawn on the day of the US presidential election.
© J. Scott Applewhite / AP / dpa
Regarding the planned withdrawal from Germany, the draft says that the Congress continues to value Germany as a strong
NATO partner
.
The presence of the "approximately 34,500 members of the US armed forces stationed in Germany" serves as an important
deterrent
to Russia's expansionist efforts in Europe.
The US troops in Germany are also of central importance in supporting US operations in the Middle East, Africa and Afghanistan.
A few weeks after Trump's announcement, the now dismissed
US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had
made it clear that the plans should be implemented "as soon as possible".
A good half of the 12,000 soldiers should therefore be brought back to the USA, 5600 should be relocated to other NATO countries.
Three locations in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate would be particularly hard hit by the plans: Stuttgart, Vilseck and Spangdahlem.
Video: What would a troop withdrawal mean for the locations in Germany?
Donald Trump has threatened
to block
the
defense budget
with a veto - but this has nothing to do with the debate about the withdrawal of US troops from Germany, but with a dispute over the regulation of online platforms.
In the summer he had also
threatened to
veto
the legislative package
in a dispute over a possible renaming of military bases
.
A presidential veto can be
overruled
with a
two-thirds majority
in the House of Representatives and Senate.
The defense budget package is one of a series of bills that Congress intends to pass before the end of the year.
The defense budget was passed with bipartisan support for 59 consecutive years.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network.
