President Donald Trump has approved a plan to slash the US military presence in Germany by 9,500 troops, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said the move, which has sparked concerns in Berlin and in the NATO alliance, is to redeploy the troops and will "enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, (and) reassure allies," as well as improving US strategic flexibility.

The move will cut the current troop level in Germany from about 34,500 to 25,000, Trump's stated goal.

Hoffmann gave no details on when the reductions would happen or whether the troops would be redeployed to another NATO country.

He said the Pentagon will brief Congress on the plan "in the coming weeks" and then consult allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "on the way forward."

Pentagon officials say that if the reduction takes place, some of the troops could be sent to former Eastern Bloc countries -- some on a permanent basis but most in short-term rotations -- to send a message to Moscow.

Worries about possible Russian expansionism surged in NATO countries after Moscow sent troops in 2014 to seize the Crimea region from Ukraine.

While Polish leader Andrzej Duda visited Washington last week, Trump said some of the US troops could go to Poland.

"Some will be coming home and some will be going to other places. Poland would be one of those other places," he said.

Trump said earlier this month he was cutting troops due to unhappiness with Germany.

On June 15, two weeks after Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not attend a Trump-planned G7 summit because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump complained Berlin is not spending enough on its own defense and treats the United States "badly" on trade.

"We're negotiating with them on that, but right now I'm not satisfied with the deal they want to make. They've cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars over the years on trade, so we get hurt on trade and we get hurt on NATO."

"It's a tremendous cost to the United States," he said. "So we're removing a number down to, we're putting the number down to 25,000 soldiers."

Pentagon releases statement in support of reducing troops in Germany
Washington DC (UPI) Jun 30, 2020 - The Pentagon released a statement Tuesday in support of President Donald Trump's proposal to reassign 9,500 troops currently stationed in Germany.

According to the statement, which comes on the heels of reporting that Congress is taking steps to rebuke the president's plan, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley briefed the president on the proposal Monday.

"The proposal that was approved not only meets the President's directive, it will also enhance Russian deterrence, strengthen NATO, reassure Allies, improve U.S. strategic flexibility and U.S. European Command's operational flexibility, and take care of our service members and their families," the Pentagon's statement said.

The press release also said Pentagon leaders intend to brief Congressional defense committees "in the coming weeks" and will also consult with NATO allies.

"We will be providing timely updates to potentially affected personnel, their families and communities as planning progresses," the Department of Defense statement said.

Earlier this month the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Germany confirmed plans to reduce the number of American troops stationed permanently in Germany to 25,000.

Under the troop revision, about 9,500 troops will be removed from the country where more U.S. troops are stationed than in any other European country as part of a decades-old agreement.

The plan had been criticized by conservatives in the United States and Germany, and this week a bipartisan group of senators led by Utah Sen. mitt Romney proposed an amendment to the annual defense policy bill that would freeze troop numbers in country.

Congressional Democrats, including House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., have also criticized the plan, saying it seems strategically unsound.

On Tuesday Smith recommended Congress block the proposal until the administration makes its case.

"It is possible that there is a scenario where repositioning troops out of Germany is in our national security interests. The president has not made that case to date, the [Department of Defense] has not made that case to date, and the president is doing it in a very haphazard manner," Smith said.

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