"Washington intends to relocate 9,500 U.S. troops from Germany to two different countries by the end of September" said U.S. President Donald Trump in his interview with the Washington Post last week. Poland is already in line to receive some of these troops. The second one will be a country that fulfills obligations to finance defense forces in the amount of GDP 2%.
Now, Latvia wants to become this country. Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks said on Thursday that his country is willing to host U.S. forces, though he hopes it will not have to be at Germany's expense.
"We are ready to invest, to receive also a certain amount of American troops on Latvian soil," he said during the virtual European Union Defense Forum. "We are not trying here to punish Germans," Pabriks added. "We understand there must be a push for Germans to do more, but a presence in Germany is vital for global security."
Estonia is also considering closer cooperation with the United States in this matter. "I submitted my proposals to the government to strengthen bilateral relations between our countries. This is a signal that we want to see the U.S. troops here on permanent basis," the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Estonia Urmas Reinsalu said yesterday.
As we know, Donald Trump has decided a month ago to cut the U.S. military contingent in Germany from 35,000 to 25,000. As he explained, his decision is following disagreements over defense spending levels.
It seems that Trump defiantly punished Germany to show that Washington cooperates only with those who serve its interests. This is a step serious enough to discipline Germany and split NATO in order to manage it better.
Donald Trump considers Poland more reliable ally than Germany. This situation is a slap in the face to the Germans, and this step is aimed to isolate Berlin and deprive it of leadership in Europe. In other words, Washington shows that only a state that follows U.S interests can rely on support.
Remarkably, the decision to withdraw American troops from Germany is absolutely correct, since no one is threatening Europe. And the leading countries of Europe have no feeling that Russia is an aggressor and an enemy.
However, withdrawing troops from Germany, the United States does not return them home, but simply relocates them even closer to Russian borders. But, if additional soldiers and equipment go on permanent basis to the East, this will be a violation of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between NATO and the Russian Federation.
In its turn, this situation will cause a new atmosphere of mistrust and response measures on the part of Moscow.
From the military point of view, there is no any benefit at all from the increase in U.S. troops in the Baltic States. Any military forces and infrastructure located in the Baltics, are within the Russian missile attack area. In case of military conflict between Russia and NATO, these areas and all the forces deployed there will be simply destroyed.
Ultimately, the U.S. troops will not provide security in Europe, but, on the contrary, will make the situation in the region explosive.
Apparently, the relocation of troops from Germany is a political step. Trump is trying to control Germany and at the same time to put pressure on Moscow. In this situation, the Baltic countries are just the tools that Washington uses to advance its policies.
