Overview
- Pentagon leaders said Friday they will withdraw about 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany over the next six to 12 months, and President Donald Trump said Saturday the reductions could go much further.
- European leaders meeting in Yerevan said the timing caught them off guard and called it a wake‑up call to build a stronger European pillar within NATO, with the alliance seeking details on the U.S. posture change.
- German Chancellor Friedrich Merz indicated a Biden‑era plan to base a Tomahawk‑equipped U.S. battalion in Germany is being shelved, with depleted missile stocks cited as one reason.
- Senior Republicans who chair the U.S. Armed Services committees warned the drawdown could weaken deterrence against Russia and urged moving the forces east rather than pulling them off the continent.
- NATO chief Mark Rutte said Europeans have “heard the message,” pointing to countries pre‑positioning ships and support near the Gulf and to fresh work on basing access, while Trump has also signaled possible changes for Italy and Spain.