Europe rattled by 'disastrous trend' as Trump pulls 5,000 troops out of Germany

European leaders called for the continent to learn how to defend itself Saturday after Pentagon officials said the U.S. was withdrawing approximately 5,000 troops from Germany.

European leaders called for the continent to learn how to defend itself Saturday after Pentagon officials said the U.S. was withdrawing approximately 5,000 troops from Germany.

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The pullout decision came after Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the U.S. had been “humiliated” by Iran, causing a spat with Washington and capping weeks of President Donald Trump’s frustration that U.S. allies in Europe are not doing enough to help with the spiraling crisis in the Middle East.

It comes at a time of deep divisions between Washington and its European allies, with transatlantic tensions already heightened by tariff threats, U.S. pressure on Ukraine to make concessions to Russia in exchange for peace, and Trump’s push earlier this year to take over Greenland, the semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark.