In Another Gift to Putin, Trump Withdraws 12,000 Troops From Germany

Another gift from Trump to Putin.  Stalin is smiling in hell....

The United States is removing nearly 12,000 American troops from Germany and will move the headquarters of U.S. European Command from Germany to Belgium.... 

Esper announced that 11,900 U.S. military personnel will leave Germany, reducing the American troop presence there from 36,000 to 24,000. The troop adjustments in Germany are the largest in almost a decade ....

The U.S. has maintained mostly Army and Air Force service members in Germany since the end of World War II and continues to use its facilities as a major hub for troops stationed in other locations overseas.

Senators from both political parties called out the Trump administration for what they're really doing.

Calling the plans "a grave error" and a "gift to Russia" Senator Mitt Romney was among those Senate Republicans who said it would embolden Russian aggression.  "It is a slap in the face at a friend and ally when we should instead be drawing closer in our mutual commitment to deter Russian and Chinese aggression," he added.

Senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the committee described the move as "a self-inflicted wound by President Trump against American interests" and "an irrational and ill-conceived proposal." Reed also said the plan was not based on a strategic rationale and could embolden Russia's ambitions in Europe.

With Trump, all roads lead to Putin.

"The plan to remove our troops from Germany will be at the detriment of our national security interests," said Mick Mulroy, a former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East. "It will cost billions, it will drive a wedge in NATO and it will be a gift to Russia."

Mulroy said that at a time when Russian intelligence is alleged to have run a bounty program to target American troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. "should be looking at ways to sanction them."

Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-withdraw-12000-troops-germany/story?id=72051446