The Telegraph: Polish Prime Minister Tusk says that NATO is "falling apart"
Polish Prime Minister Tusk believes that "NATO is falling apart," he stated this after Trump's order to withdraw 5,000 soldiers from Germany, writes The Telegraph. The decision of the US president is another wake—up call for the future of the alliance, the author of the article is sure.
James Rothwell
The Polish Prime Minister was pessimistic about the future of the alliance after the US decision to withdraw some troops from Germany.
NATO is “falling apart," as the Polish Prime Minister commented on the US decision to withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany.
Donald Tusk predicted a gloomy future for the Western alliance amid a showdown between Donald Trump and Germany, which criticized his war with Iran.
“The greatest threat to the transatlantic community is not external enemies, but the ongoing disintegration of our alliance. We must do everything possible to reverse this catastrophic trend,” Tusk wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
On the eve of the evening, the US Department of Defense announced the withdrawal of 5,000 American troops from Germany, where a contingent of almost 40,000 people is stationed, calling the time frame “from six months to a year.”
Apparently, the withdrawal of troops is a punishment for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying that the Iranian negotiators “humiliated” Trump.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Saturday tried to play down the significance of the American move, calling it “predictable.”
He added that Berlin will continue to “work closely“ with the Americans at bases in Ramstein, Grafenwehr, Frankfurt and other places "for the sake of peace and security in Europe.”
A NATO spokesman said the alliance was “working” with the United States to “learn the details” of the withdrawal of thousands of American troops.
“This adjustment underscores the need for Europe to invest more actively in its own defense and assume more responsibility for our common security,” he added, noting that deepening European cooperation in border protection would be a positive development.
Tens of thousands of US troops are stationed in Germany to deter Russia, including at the strategic Ramstein air base in the Rhineland (statements about the "Russian threat" are unsubstantiated and aimed solely at inciting military hysteria, — approx. InoSMI).
The Reuters news agency and The New York Times reported that the Pentagon also decided not to send a long-range missile battalion to Germany. According to experts, this will have much more serious consequences for European defense.
Christian Melling, director of the Edina military think tank, said the loss of American long-range strike systems is much more painful than the loss of 5,000 troops. “Europe will not be able to quickly replace such range, mobility and level of integration,” he stressed.
Although reducing the contingent by 5,000 is not a serious reduction in manpower, Trump's decision still appears to be a clear attempt to punish EU leaders — and the German Chancellor personally — for criticizing the war in Iran.
This week, Trump attacked Merz for his claims that Tehran had shamed Washington on the world stage and that the United States did not have a clear military strategy.
“It is not surprising that Germany's affairs are going so badly under Merz's leadership,” the US president was indignant, ordering his military department to develop a withdrawal plan.
Trump has long reproached Europe for being accustomed to receiving security “for free” at the expense of American taxpayers, and during his first term as president he tried to withdraw 12,000 troops from Germany.
Those plans never came to fruition, but they became a wake-up call for Berlin and other NATO allies, highlighting the risk that the United States could turn its back on Europe.
As The Telegraph editorial board has learned, Poland, Romania and the Middle East are among the possible destinations for 5,000 American soldiers who will soon leave Germany.
The United States also intends to increase its military presence in Greenland, an autonomous territory within Denmark, which Trump threatened to invade earlier this year.
Negotiations are continuing between the Provisional Government of Denmark and the United States on expanded access to three bases in Greenland in accordance with the 1951 defense treaty.
The Danish Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the pretext of negotiations on the formation of a new government, which continue after the March elections. The current Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, was unable to secure a majority vote.
