Two of Alabama’s Republican congressmen have sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to reconsider his plan to withdraw a significant amount of U.S. troops currently stationed in Germany.
Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Fairhope) and Rep Mike Rogers (R-Saks) both signed on to Rep. Mac Thornberry’s (R-TX) letter that argues a troop withdrawal could “significantly damage U.S. national security as well as strengthen the position of Russia to our detriment.”
Byrne and Rogers are both members of the House Armed Services Committee, of which Thornberry is the ranking Republican. A total of 22 House Republicans signed the letter, including prominent figures Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
Trump administration officials, with the president’s approval, formalized a plan last week that would remove 9,500 troops currently stationed in Germany, according to a story broken by the Wall Street Journal.
The United States, as of now, has 34,500 service members across a number of bases in Germany, which is a key hub for America’s forces in Europe. Trump’s plan would cap that number at 25,000.
Trump has repeatedly questioned and criticized Germany for not living up to its promise of spending 2% of its economic output on defense, which the country has agreed to do on multiple occasions but keeps delaying.
The president has also repeatedly expressed his frustration with a situation he sees as America footing the bill for other countries’ military defense.
Yellowhammer News did not receive a response after reaching out to the offices of Byrne and Rogers for further comment about their position on the withdrawal.
The two representatives did issue a joint statement along with the 20 other signers of the letter.
It reads as follows:
We strongly believe that NATO allies, such as Germany, should do more to contribute to our joint defense efforts. At the same time, we also know that the forward stationing of American troops since the end of World War II has helped to prevent another world war and, most importantly, has helped make America safer.
In Europe, the threats posed by Russia have not lessened, and we believe that signs of a weakened U.S. commitment to NATO will encourage further Russian aggression and opportunism. In addition, the overall limit on troops would prevent us from conducting the exercises that are necessary for the training and readiness of our forces and those of our allies. The troop limit would also significantly reduce the number of U.S. forces that can flow through Germany for deployment to bases around the world, causing serious logistical challenges.
The full letter signed by the 22 House Republicans can be read here.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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