Deutsche WellePolitics Belgium US troop withdrawal from Europe to take ‘years’ — generalSaim Dušan Inayatullah AFP, AP, Reuters May 19, 2026
NATO top commander Alexus Grynkewich said the US withdrawal would be “well-synchronized” with European allies. It comes after Donald Trump announced a decision to pull 5,000 troops out of Germany.
The US will take years to withdraw its troops from Europe, NATO top commander Alexus Grynkewich said Tuesday.
It comes after US President Donald Trump announced a decision to pull about 5,000 troops out of Germany and cancel the deployment of long-range Tomahawk missiles.
What did the general say about US withdrawal from Europe?
The general stressed that the US withdrawal would be coordinated with European allies’ strengthening of their own defense capabilities.
“As the European pillar of the alliance gets stronger, this allows the US to reduce its presence in Europe and limit itself to providing only those critical capabilities that allies cannot yet provide,” Grynkewich told reporters after a meeting of NATO military chiefs at the military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
“We’re going to stay well-synchronized with our allies moving forward,” he said.
“I can’t really give you an exact timeline; it’s going to be an ongoing process for several years.”
Grynkewich is a US Air Force general and serves as the NATO military alliance’s Supreme Allied Commander.
Germany’s Ramstein base a ‘global gateway’ for US military
No other withdrawals ‘in the near-term’ — Grynkewich
HE said Trump’s decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany was the only one he was aware of “in the near-term.”
Grynkewich’s comments seemingly contradict an earlier statement by Trump that Washington would reduce the US military presence in Germany “a lot further.”
The United States currently has some 50,000 troops stationed in Germany.
Trump’s surprise announcement came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested Washington was being “humiliated” in its war with Iran.
The US president has long called for European allies to up their military spending and rely less on the United States.
In June of last year, NATO countries agreed to raise their military spending to 5% of GDP in line with Trump’s demands, with Spain being the only member state to opt out.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse
