The US will deploy an additional 500 Soldiers to Germany

USA will deploy an additional 500 soldiers in Germany, where the presence of important American troops had been questioned by the administration of Donald Trump, announced this Tuesday the current Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

“I informed the (German) Defense Minister of our intention to permanently dispatch an additional 500 US servicemen to the Wiesbaden (West) region starting this fall (boreal),” the defense secretary said in a joint statement with his German counterpart, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer.

“It is excellent news that President Joe Biden has not only announced that the withdrawal plans have been abandoned, but that, on the contrary, these troops in Germany will be reinforced.” The German minister congratulated herself, seeing this as “a very strong sign of unity.”

This announcement is contrary to the attitude taken during the presidency of Trump, who constantly criticized the lack of German financial participation for his security and within the framework of NATO. The former president even planned to reduce the US military presence in Germany, a legacy of the end of World War II.

However, the US presence has declined markedly since the fall of the Berlin Wall, from 200,000 soldiers in 1990 to 34,500 this year.

Austin promised that Germany “will continue to be an important security and economic partner” with the United States “for years to come.” “That is why strengthening our relations with Germany is one of the top priorities of the Biden-Harris administration,” he declared.

The controversial Russian-German Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, which is nearing completion, and which the United States opposes, would not tarnish this relationship.

“We have expressed our opposition to this agreement and the influence it gives to Russia. But we will not let this matter get in the way of the great relationship we have with Germany”, Austin assured.

However, the new Democratic government has warned in recent weeks that “all entities involved” in the construction of the gas pipeline, including several German companies, will be sanctioned by the United States if they do not withdraw from the project “immediately”.