Germany troop cuts send wrong signal to Russia, say two top US Republicans

Germany troop cuts send wrong signal to Russia, say two top US Republicans18 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRobert GreenallBBC NewsGetty ImagesTwo senior US Republican lawmakers have criticised a decision by the Pentagon to cut 5,000 US troops stationed in Germany, saying it risked undermining deterrence and would send the wrong signal to Russia.Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers, who chair the Senate and House armed services committees respectively, said that rather than being withdrawn, those troops should be moved further east.Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell on Friday said the move followed a thorough review and recognised "theater requirements and conditions on the ground".On Saturday, President Donald Trump said further cuts could take place, without providing details. The US has more than 36,000 active duty troops in Germany.Germany's defence minister said the Pentagon decision was "foreseeable".Speaking to the DPA news agency, Boris Pistorius also stressed "the presence of American soldiers in Europe, and particularly in Germany, is in our interest and in the interest of the US".The Nato military alliance said it was seeking clarification from Washington.In a joint statement, Wicker and Rogers said they were "very concerned by the decision to withdraw a US brigade from Germany" as European allies move towards spending more of their economic output (GDP) on defence."Prematurely reducing America's forward presence in Europe before those capabilities are fully realised risks undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin," the statement said."Rather than withdrawing forces from the continent altogether, it is in America's interest to maintain a strong deterrent in Europe by moving these 5,000 U.S. forces to the east."The senior Democrat on the House armed services committee, Adam Smith, said the decision was "not grounded in any coherent US national...