Jenn and Alex discuss the Trump administration’s controversial decision, formally announced this week, to move forward with a plan to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany. Critics from both parties say it’s a gift to Russia, while the Pentagon argues it’s a necessary repositioning of forces to better deter Russia in Eastern Europe. President Trump, though, says he’s doing it because Germany isn’t paying its fair share in NATO (a misleading claim at best). Alex and Jenn talk through the merits of the different arguments and examine what the troop reduction could mean for the future of Europe.

References:

You can find the official Pentagon statements on the decision here and here

NATO has a bunch of defense spending charts

Deutsche Welle has what you need to know about the troop withdrawal decision here and here

Members of Trump’s team seem to really like the idea

That time when Merkel rebuffed Trump’s G7 summit invitation, kicking this whole drama off

Find Trump’s comments for the decision here

The Biden campaign sent Alex a statement on the troop withdrawal issue

And here’s that Twitter question Alex asked that got a major conversation going about the “gift” to Putin charge

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), national security reporter, Vox

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