NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday played down Donald Trump’s sudden moves to pull troops and capabilities out of Europe, vowing any reductions would take place in a “structured way.”
Washington this month announced it would withdraw at least 5,000 soldiers from Europe, including canceling the deployment of a rotational unit to Poland — a move that blindsided NATO allies and dealt a fresh blow to the already ailing transatlantic relationship.
“We know that adjustments will take place, the U.S. has to pivot toward, for example, Asia,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels. But “this will take place over time, in a structured way,” he added, insisting “the U.S. will stay involved in Europe.”
The move to redeploy troops came in response to a personal spat between Trump and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz over the Iran war. While Poland — long considered one of America’s staunchest EU allies — hurriedly dispatched officials to Washington this week to seek clarity on the unexpected move to halt the deployment of soldiers there.
The decision has left Europe stunned. The U.S. did not brief allies in advance of the announcements, according to two senior alliance diplomats, who were granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive matter. It has yet to give details on exactly how the drawdowns will play out, they said.
The U.S. Department of Defense issued a statement on Tuesday saying it “has reduced the total number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) assigned to Europe from four to three,” which would bring U.S. force posture in Europe back to 2021 levels — before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The move is designed to enhance Trump’s “America First agenda,” the statement added.
The statement also emphasized that Poland was a “model ally” and that U.S. officials were speaking with their Polish counterparts about the delayed deployment.
Polish Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz met on Wednesday with U.S. Gen. Christopher Mahoney, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saying that the talks “confirm that there are no plans to reduce the U.S. military presence in Poland.”
There is also confusion in Berlin.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Wednesday: “There is still no reliable confirmation. The only thing we are hearing is that this is embedded in a decision to reduce the number of American brigades in Europe by one.”
He added that it was still “completely unclear” when this would happen and if this would “remain limited to the decision concerning Poland, in full or in part, and to what extent troops stationed in Germany will be affected.”
Rutte said the withdrawals were “not having an impact on NATO’s defense plans,” echoing a similar claim by the alliance’s top commander, U.S. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, on Tuesday.
The shift in U.S. strategy affects about 3 percent of U.S. forces in Europe, but the withdrawal also targets a long-range fires unit equipped with Tomahawk missiles. It was set to deploy in Germany later this year and serve as a stopgap measure until Europe develops its own comparable weapons able to hit deep into Russia.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is reportedly planning to tell allies on Friday it will curb the amount of military capabilities available to the alliance in peacetime and if Russia invades Europe. Under NATO’s so-called Force Model system, alliance members periodically identify the soldiers and equipment they will commit to NATO operations. Washington now wants to scale that down.
While declining to give details on the reduction, Rutte said the U.S. decision was “exactly as we expected and absolutely within the realm of the no-surprises approach.”
“When it comes to the NATO force model, we have the processes in place — this is normal business,” he said. “This was to be expected — I think this is only right that this happens.”
Rixa Fürsen contributed reporting.
