Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to Germany to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. As a real diplomatic visit, it’s going to be another chance for the US to reiterate its stance.
The US stance toward Germany, as ever, is that the US doesn’t think Germany spends enough on its military, and that if they don’t come around and spend a lot more, the US will ultimately withdraw troops from Germany, potentially all of the US presence.
President Trump has chosen to emphasize this narrative, repeatedly, though there has been no sign Germany intends to spend enough to satisfy the US. Moreover, polls have shown Germany is wholly comfortable with the US leaving.
There is no reason not to be comfortable with a US-less Germany, after all. Even spending a tiny fraction of their GDP, Germany maintains one of the top-10 militaries in the world. On top of that, they have no enemies on their borders, nor any reason to think they might get into a real war that isn’t one of choice somewhere else in the world.
Kurgen
Article URL : https://news.antiwar.com/2019/11/06/pompeos-visit-to-germany-will-again-center-on-threats-to-pull-us-troops/