United States of America

US Troop Withdrawal: Politics Trumps Strategy

The Pentagon has released some details of its plan to withdraw forces from Germany. The headline figure is now 11 900 troops (coyly described by the Pentagon as “more than 11 000”) compared to the total of roughly 9 500 discussed when the plan was first announced in June. Of these, around 5 600 will be redeployed In Europe, mostly to Belgium and Italy, and around 6 400 returned to the US.

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Reducing US Troop Numbers in Germany Would Undermine NATO’s Capability and Credibility

President Donald Trump ordered preparations for reducing considerably US troops numbers in Germany. A formal decision has not been made yet, and Trump may ultimately decline to sign it due to mounting political pressure, including in the Republican Party, but political damage to NATO’s credibility has been done. The whole construction of collective defence would be significantly weakened because of less rapid reinforcement capability from Germany to NATO’s eastern flank.

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Pompeo vs Patrushev

The Kremlin decided to scare the US with the “Patrushev doctrine” and animations of Russia’s “miracle weapons”, and Washington finally did take fright and embarked on a real arms race.

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Belarus. At a Crossroads Again?

On 1 February 2020, President Alexander Lukashenka, President of Belarus for 25+ years and the longest-serving president in Europe, met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Minsk. This occasion marked the first time since 1994 that the US Secretary of State has visited Belarus.

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