Berlin—When President Trump said he would pull some U.S. troops out of Germany to punish the country for its leader's criticism of the Iran war, Sevim Dağdelen thought: Finally!
The far-left German politician said, 'We're extremely grateful for the help in defeating the Nazis. But 81 years after the end of World War II—it's also time for American soldiers to go home.'
The Pentagon's decision to pull 5,000 of its 35,000 troops out of the country within six to 12 months and to cancel a 2024 agreement to station long-range conventional missiles in Germany has caused consternation among mainstream politicians and security officials here.
While many see the drawdown as symbolic, they fear the canceled missile deployment will make Germany more vulnerable to Russian attacks. The impact on European security could be mitigated by U.S. troop deployments elsewhere.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz has spoken to Trump to try to clear the air over his earlier criticism of the war, according to a German official. In other quarters, however, the news is being feted as long overdue.
'For our sovereignty's sake, we really shouldn't be having foreign troops on our soil,' said Dağdelen, a lawmaker for 20 years and now a leading member of the newly created far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance, or BSW.
Others have welcomed the news, including the far-right AfD, the far-left Linke and even some members of the center-left Social Democratic Party, or SPD.
