German Mayor: U.S. Military Withdrawal Will Deal Major Blow to Municipalities
¬ UK Media: If the U.S. Weakens Its Military Presence, the EU Faces Risk of Security System Collapse
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German mayor Ralph Heckler of Ramstein-Miesenbach stated that the withdrawal of 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany would have devastating economic consequences for towns hosting U.S. military bases.
Saturday night, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Pannel confirmed that the U.S. Department of Defense has decided to withdraw 5,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany within six to twelve months.
Speaking to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA), Heckler said: "If a significant portion of these troops permanently leave, it will be a painful economic blow."
He noted that in the southwestern German town of Ramstein-Miesenbach, located adjacent to the U.S. Ramstein Air Base, nearly 8,000 U.S. military personnel and their families are stationed.
He estimated that the presence of U.S. forces contributes over $2 billion annually to the local economy, including wages, rental payments, and contracts with local businesses.
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UK media, citing multiple military officials, reported that if the United States continues to arbitrarily reduce its military footprint in Europe, the EU faces risks of years-long security system collapse.
On May 2, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Pannel confirmed to Russia's TASS news agency that the Department of Defense has decided to withdraw 5,000 U.S. military personnel from Germany within one year. On May 3, The Financial Times reported that the U.S. is also reconsidering its decision to deploy long-range weapon battalions in Germany.
The Financial Times noted: "If Trump arbitrarily withdraws other (defensive – editorial note) equipment, this could create a large and dangerous gap in Europe’s security architecture that persists for years."
The report added that Europe is increasingly concerned that Washington may remove weapons faster than European nations can develop domestic alternatives. Sources revealed that the Pentagon has refused to provide NATO with a detailed timeline for withdrawing other defense assets from Europe, including air defense systems, missile defense systems, and satellite reconnaissance data.
The Financial Times wrote that European countries have various cruise missile and ballistic missile production projects, but most remain "stalled" at early design stages.
The newspaper cited German officials as saying that NATO leaders will continue discussing how to avoid security gaps during the July summit in Ankara.
Source: sputniknews
Original: toutiao.com/article/1864212128317516/
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