BRUSSELS, May 19 (Reuters) – The U.S. will pull more troops from Europe but the process will stretch over years to give allies time to develop capabilities to replace them, NATO’s top commander said on Tuesday.
U.S. Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich was speaking after decisions by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to withdraw some 5,000 troops from Germany and cancel deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles.
European officials were surprised by the timing of the troop announcement and by U.S. officials linking it to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s criticism of the U.S. strategy in the Iran war.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of NATO military chiefs in Brussels, Grynkewich said the decision was the only such move he was aware of “in the near-term” and would not affect the alliance’s ability to execute its defence plans.
European governments say they have heeded Trump’s call to spend more on defence and take more responsibility for the continent’s security. But they fear a hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops and weapons could leave Europe vulnerable to a military attack from Russia, although Moscow denies any such intention.
DRAWDOWN TO TAKE YEARS
Grynkewich said there would be further withdrawals of U.S. troops in Europe, which number roughly 80,000, but that would happen as European forces grow to fill the gap.
“As the European pillar of the alliance gets stronger, this allows the U.S. to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing only those critical capabilities that allies cannot yet provide,” said Grynkewich, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander.
“I can’t really give you an exact timeline; it’s going to be an ongoing process for several years,” he added.
While Europe would take more responsibility for conventional defence, this would happen “with continued critical backing from American capabilities, which are being adjusted,” Grynkewich said.
NATO relies on the U.S. for a range of critical capabilities such as command and control systems, satellite-based intelligence and communications, strategic bombers and the U.S. nuclear umbrella, officials and analysts say.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Lili Bayer, Andrew Gray and Inti Landauro, editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout)
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