Pentagon Confirms ~5,000 Troop Withdrawal from Germany; Trump Threatens Deeper Cuts from Italy and Spain

The Pentagon confirmed plans to withdraw approximately 5,000 active-duty US troops from Germany over the following 12 months — the first concrete US military drawdown from Europe directly linked to the Iran war-era NATO-US burden-sharing rift. Defense Secretary Hegseth authorized the reduction, affecting primarily forces at Grafenwöhr Training Area and Ramstein support units. Trump told reporters the cuts would go much further: 'We're going to cut way down... And we're cutting a lot further than 5,000,' threatening withdrawals from Italy and Spain as additional leverage against allies who had declined to support Hormuz operations. Bloomberg's Kat Gavito described it as a pivot from rhetorical to operational pressure on European allies. NATO Secretary General Rutte stated he understood Trump's 'disappointment' with allies who had not supported coalition efforts but warned that troop reductions would 'weaken, not strengthen, the pressure on allies to do more for their own defense.' Germany's government said it was 'seeking clarification' from Washington. The 5,000 figure represents approximately 14% of the ~35,000 US personnel stationed in Germany — significant symbolically but not immediately catastrophic for NATO's eastern flank posture. Poland's President Duda reiterated an offer to host additional troops transferred from Germany at no cost to the US, framing the offer as a way for the alliance to maintain eastern flank strength during the drawdown period.