WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump, upset at NATO allies’ failure to help secure the Strait of Hormuz and angry that his plans to acquire Greenland have not moved forward, has discussed with advisers the option of removing some US troops from Europe, a senior White House official told Reuters on Thursday.
No decision has been made and the White House has not directed the Pentagon to draw up concrete plans for a troop reduction on the continent, said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
But the discussions alone underscore how sharply relations between Washington and its European NATO allies have deteriorated in recent months. They also suggest that a visit to the White House on Wednesday by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte failed to significantly improve transatlantic relations, which are arguably at their lowest point since NATO’s 1949 founding.
The US currently has more than 80,000 troops in Europe and has played a central role in Europe’s security architecture since World War Two. More than 30,000 of those troops are located in Germany, with sizeable numbers also stationed in Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain.
NATO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The official did not say which countries could be affected or how many troops might ultimately be withdrawn if Trump decides to move forward with the idea.
NATO diplomats have said the US had not made clear if it expected any mission in the Strait of Hormuz to start during or after the conflict, and they have also said the US has not specified what particular capabilities it expected of each NATO country.
