[…] Current and former officials briefed on the meeting told the newspaper that the Trump administration aims to cut the forces earmarked to defend NATO by one-third to one-half. That includes cuts to U.S. commitments of long-range strike forces, such as strategic bombers, as well as some midair refueling tankers and warships. The move affects the NATO force model, a system used to generate and assign forces from the alliance’s member states for various defense plans, part of which involves resources from the continental United States to be made available in the event of a major crisis within the first 10 days, 30 days and 180 days. […]
It also follows recent Pentagon decisions to scale back the U.S. military presence in Europe, including the cancellation earlier this month of an armored brigade’s deployment to Poland — part of an effort to cut U.S. troops on the continent by 5,000. Another unit affected was a long-range fires battalion slated to deploy to Germany later this year. […]
U.S. European Command’s Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander, said last week during a news conference in Brussels that there were no immediate plans to further reduce U.S. troop levels in Europe. However, he said more cuts could come in the long term as allies strengthen their own capabilities. There are about 80,000 U.S. troops spread across several countries on the continent. The cuts to the NATO force model should not be confused with cuts to the U.S. force presence in Europe, said Oana Longescu, a former NATO spokesperson, noting that the force model includes assets and troops not currently in Europe. Läs artikel
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