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US threatens to withdraw troops from Germany

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US threatens to withdraw troops from Germany

Old 10th Aug 2019, 08:05
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US threatens to withdraw troops from Germany

https://www.dw.com/en/us-threatens-t...any/a-49959555

US threatens to withdraw troops from Germany

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Old 10th Aug 2019, 08:41
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"The US says it might pull out some troops from Germany" is what it says - and they're only going to move them to Poland -which when you think of it makes sense - the German deployment is a 1980's hang-over (plus Poland will be cheaper to base)
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Old 10th Aug 2019, 09:46
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The US have 35.000 troops in Germany and might move around 5000 to the east.
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Old 10th Aug 2019, 11:45
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Plenty of space available at ex USAF bases in the UK.
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Old 10th Aug 2019, 11:51
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Very good idea to move them to Poland. Definitely in line with the NATO restraint promised to the Russian at the fall of the wall...
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Old 10th Aug 2019, 11:57
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5000 are more of a tripwire instead a threat. Bit like the US Berlin Brigade back then.
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 06:48
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Originally Posted by Less Hair
5000 are more of a tripwire instead a threat. Bit like the US Berlin Brigade back then.
Or the British Army deployments in Estonia..
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 13:16
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Tripwires assume that somebody, or something, will take a fall?
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 15:11
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No, just set off a Claymore pointing towards them....
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 16:38
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Originally Posted by atakacs
Very good idea to move them to Poland. Definitely in line with the NATO restraint promised to the Russian at the fall of the wall...
That promise was broken long ago.
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 18:19
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"That promise was broken long ago."

And seeing what Russia has been up to in Georgia, the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine it is also totally obsolete.
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 21:05
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5000 troops is not a lot in the big scheme of things; but the symbology is much larger. This is Trump telling Germany that US military support in Europe is not 'gratis' and tied to economic and political cooperation.
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 21:34
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Can someone answer this basic question:

Why does the US have 35,000 troops in Germany anyway? WW2 ended 75 years ago. Cold War ended 30 years ago. Aren't these nations advanced in economics and technology and capable of defending themselves now?

Now, if the claim is "mutual defense", are there European troops stationed in the USA, Japan, Korea? Not in significant numbers, it would appear. Or if we simply need jumping off spots on our way to invading all the little despotic places on the globe, can't we just sign an agreement to rent some space there?
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Old 11th Aug 2019, 21:36
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Originally Posted by pr00ne
"That promise was broken long ago."

And seeing what Russia has been up to in Georgia, the Crimea and Eastern Ukraine it is also totally obsolete.
Well Georgia was unequivocally started by the Georgians who got suckered into it by the good offices of Washington.

Ukraine is certainly more debatable but at the very least there is a valid discussion to have about Crimea. NRD is indeed fairly shady (although I'd guess that a significant majority of the locals would rather be under Russian administration). On the other hand NATO has continuously closed in around Russia over the past 20 years. You can't expect zero pushback.
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 06:57
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😂

Originally Posted by Asturias56
"The US says it might pull out some troops from Germany" is what it says - and they're only going to move them to Poland -which when you think of it makes sense - the German deployment is a 1980's hang-over (plus Poland will be cheaper to base)
A 80’s hangover???
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 07:18
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Originally Posted by minigundiplomat
5000 troops is not a lot in the big scheme of things; but the symbology is much larger. This is Trump telling Germany that US military support in Europe is not 'gratis' and tied to economic and political cooperation.
It is not US Military Support. It is forward operating stations to maintain the US capability to respond to anything East of Germany....the troops are not there for the benefit of Germany or any other European State, they are there to maintain US interests. All this rubbish spouted about Germany needing to pay more for the protection offered by America is Codswallop, the USA, certainly under it’s present leadership, gives not one fig about anyone other than the USA.
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 14:22
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Originally Posted by Simplythebeast
It is not US Military Support. It is forward operating stations to maintain the US capability to respond to anything East of Germany....the troops are not there for the benefit of Germany or any other European State, they are there to maintain US interests. All this rubbish spouted about Germany needing to pay more for the protection offered by America is Codswallop, the USA, certainly under it’s present leadership, gives not one fig about anyone other than the USA.
"America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests"
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 15:55
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Originally Posted by nonsense
"America has no permanent friends or enemies, only interests"

If the US sees dwindling interests in a particular nation that we help to defend, then it’s time to review the nature of the relationship. That money would be better spent here in the US than on an ally who has become too comfortable in their security guarantees.
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 15:57
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Originally Posted by atakacs

Well Georgia was unequivocally started by the Georgians who got suckered into it by the good offices of Washington.

Ukraine is certainly more debatable but at the very least there is a valid discussion to have about Crimea. NRD is indeed fairly shady (although I'd guess that a significant majority of the locals would rather be under Russian administration). On the other hand NATO has continuously closed in around Russia over the past 20 years. You can't expect zero pushback.
How in your mind are water so muddied that there’s a difference in discussion between Crimea and Ikraine?
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Old 17th Aug 2019, 16:02
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Originally Posted by obgraham
Can someone answer this basic question:

Why does the US have 35,000 troops in Germany anyway? WW2 ended 75 years ago. Cold War ended 30 years ago. Aren't these nations advanced in economics and technology and capable of defending themselves now?

Now, if the claim is "mutual defense", are there European troops stationed in the USA, Japan, Korea? Not in significant numbers, it would appear. Or if we simply need jumping off spots on our way to invading all the little despotic places on the globe, can't we just sign an agreement to rent some space there?

A valid question, drilling down a bit deeper on the thought, why doesn’t Europe entirely manage it’s own defenses? To prevent nuclear proliferation may have been the answer decades ago, not a valid answer today.

NATO is past its best use by date.
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