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NATO is still assessing the broader implications of the US decision to cut at least 5000 US troops from NATO territory, senior military spokesperson Col. Martin O’Donnell told the Europe Today show.
The 32-member alliance currently hosts around 80,000 US forces across European territory, and O’Donnell says it’s ‘business as usual’ until more details emerge on which operations will be affected.
“All those things are still under consideration,” Colonel Martin O’Donnell told Euronews.
The Pentagon has abruptly announced that the troop withdrawal will take place within the next 6 to 9 months and will involve the 36,500 US forces stationed in Germany.
Days later, US President Donald Trump said he would reduce the presence “a lot further” in the future but no further details have been provided.
Washington’s decision was taken amid a public feud with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz last week when Merz slammed the US war in Iran for being ill-conceived.
Trump reacted strongly to comments made by Merz, who also said that White House negotiators were being “humiliated” by Iran.
“We are working with the U.S. to understand the details of their decision on force posture in Germany. This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to continue to invest more in defence and take on a greater share of the responsibility for our shared security,” NATO spokesperson Alison Harte said on Saturday.
Several days after the U.S. announcement, the Pentagon has still not shared its strategy with European allies, creating challenges for Europeans who must plan how to compensate for the potential loss of U.S. forces.
But NATO is downplaying the impact the announcement will have on Europe’s force posture, despite the war in Ukraine, and ongoing Russian aggression through the Kremlin’s hybrid war activities across NATO territory.
O’Donnell noted that the US had previously indicated that such a move was ultimately inevitable. As a result, Europe has been bolstering its defences in anticipation, aiming to limit the impact of the loss of more than 5,000 American troops.
“The United States has said, look, this isn’t happening overnight. This will occur over a six-to-12-month period,” said O’Donnell.
However, he acknowledged that recent tensions within the alliance—particularly the dispute over Greenland—were damaging morale.
“Yes, one cannot escape the news, but I think what all of the countries within NATO, all 32 countries need to understand is the military members who I represent within the alliance, we are focused on our mission, which is deterring and defending,” he said.
“From a NATO perspective, in terms of our deterrence and defensive plans, this doesn’t change anything,” he said.
Video editor • Frederic Garcon