Germany downplays US withdrawal of troops

About this episode

Germany's defense minister discusses the US troop withdrawal and its implications.

Germany's defence minister Boris Pistorius has sought to downplay the impact of the United States' decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from the country, describing the move as "foreseeable". The announcement - by the US - follows a public falling out between President Donald Trump and Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week, after the German leader said the US had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing war. The US currently has more than 30,000 active duty military personnel in Germany - by far the biggest deployment in Europe, and the second largest in the world behind Japan. GUEST: Thorsten Benner, Co-founder and Director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin PRODUCER: Pip Cook

People in this episode

Guest: Thorsten Benner

Topics covered

• US troop withdrawal
• Germany
• defense policy
• international relations
• military deployment

Keywords

• Germany
• US troops
• Boris Pistorius
• Donald Trump
• Friedrich Merz
• military
• defense

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Germany, United States, Iran, Europe, Japan

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