It is widely expected that Biden, who was critical of Trump’s treatment of US allies and promised to refresh alliances, would change his course from his predecessor across Europe. Trump has long criticized members of the NATO alliance for not spending enough on their own defenses.
Wolters added that he did not know what the Biden government would decide on the future troop force in Europe.
“The new government has comfortably told us that we need to do a thorough review, rocking to the grave, in all areas,” Wolters said. “And then, after they’re allowed to do the review, we go back to the drawing board.”
“What I will say at this moment is that each of the options, that they are all on hold, and that all will be re-examined,” Wolters added.
The Trump administration’s plan, launched last summer, would have withdrawn 12,000 troops from Germany, about a third of the U.S. military footprint in that country. While about half of the troops would have come home, the other half would have been deployed to other European countries. The then top Pentagon officials said the approach, which includes using more rotating forces in place of troops stationed abroad, would increase the deterrent against Russia.
The former government also sought to relocate the headquarters of the US African Command from Stuttgart, Germany, although it did not relocate.
Pentagon leaders have tried to portray the plan as part of an effort to better distribute military forces to compete with Russia, but the plan is seen by Trump as an excavation in Germany, which is the critical ally of the NATO regularly criticizes him for being ‘criminal’ with his army. spending. Germany is not one of the handful of NATO countries that have achieved the alliance’s non-binding goal of spending two per cent of its gross domestic product on defense by 2024.
The withdrawal plan was deeply unpopular among both top Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, who argued that the reduction of troops in Germany would encourage Russia. During a public hearing in September, members of the House Armed Services Committee sued the Pentagon for failing to act on the plan, after officials who testified largely refused to share specific details.
Lawmakers have already captured the withdrawal effort in the annual defense policy legislation, which became law on Trump’s veto in January.
The final law on national defense authorization prevents the Pentagon from reducing US forces in Germany below 34,500, until it provides a detailed analysis to Congress of how the move would affect the security situation in Europe.