Germany says US troop withdrawal 'foreseeable' as Nato seeks clarification

Germany says US troop withdrawal 'foreseeable' as Nato seeks clarification6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJaroslav LukivEPA-EFE/REX/ShutterstockThe US currently has more than 36,000 active duty troops in GermanyGerman Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from his country was "foreseeable", as the Nato military alliance says it is seeking clarification from Washington.Speaking to the DPA news agency, Pistorius also stressed that "the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and particularly in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US".Meanwhile Nato spokeswoman Allison Hart said the alliance was "working with the US to understand the details of their decision".Washington's move comes after President Donald Trump criticised German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying the US had been "humiliated" by Iranian negotiators in the ongoing war.The US military deployment in Germany - currently at more than 36,000 active duty troops - is by far its biggest in Europe, compared with about 12,000 in Italy and 10,000 in the UK.Trump has also suggested pulling US troops from Italy and Spain.Last year, Washington decided to reduce its troop presence in Romania, as part of Trump's plan to shift the focus of US military commitment from Europe to the Indo-Pacific region.There are now growing concerns within the 32-member Nato alliance that the US latest decision could weaken the organisation. "The greatest threat to the transatlantic community are not its external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned on Saturday. "We must all do what it takes to reverse this disastrous trend," he added.And two senior US lawmakers from Trump's Republican party said that they were "very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany"."Rather than with...