Some NATO members are concerned that Berlin’s requests for clarity could prompt Trump to pull American forces out
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has repeatedly asked US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide a “roadmap” for the withdrawal of US troops from Europe, the Financial Times has said, citing three anonymous sources “briefed on their discussions.”
Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused European NATO members of failing to equitably share the burden of defense spending. His administration has also suggested the US could reduce its military footprint on the continent in the coming years, as its geopolitical focus increasingly shifts toward the Asia-Pacific region.
In a piece on Monday, FT reported that ahead of a NATO summit in The Hague slated for June 24, European leaders have been preoccupied with Washington’s troop drawdown plans. The fact that the US has yet to provide details has contributed to the concerns, the publication reported, citing unnamed sources.
According to the outlet, in recent months Pistorius “has pushed Hegseth, his US counterpart, to provide a ‘road map’ for a US pullback from Europe.” FT quoted an anonymous senior German official as explaining that “we all have trauma from Afghanistan,” referring to the botched withdrawal of US troops there in 2021.
Germany’s attempts have, however, reportedly come in for criticism from other members of NATO, supposedly wary that Berlin might unwittingly boost Trump’s case for a withdrawal of US forces.
Another source cited by the publication described the somewhat schizophrenic dilemma faced by European leaders as follows: “Engage with the Americans like hell to keep them as close as possible, while at the same time preparing as fast as we can for them to walk away.”
Giuseppe Spatafora, an analyst at the EU Institute for Security Studies, told FT that “European allies in Nato may fear that they could set in motion the very outcome they seek to avoid.”
The piece quoted an unnamed French diplomat as similarly insisting that “we [must] do nothing that would encourage the Americans to leave, because that’s not in our interest.”
Carlo Masala, a professor of international politics at Bundeswehr University in Munich, concluded that at present “all the Europeans are looking at the US like the rabbit looks at the snake… hoping that the snake won’t bite them.”
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