US envoy threatens Germany with troop withdrawal
The US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, has threatened that troops will be pulled out of Germany and sent to Poland. The US's repeated demands that Germany increase its defence budget are the background to his comments. More US soldiers are stationed in Germany than in any other European country. Will this soon change?
The fate of a declining power
A row has broken out within Germany's grand coalition over Grenell's remark that the SPD talks of a "threatening scenario" whereas the CDU shows understanding for the US. Rzeczpospolita finds all the fuss laughable:
“It is indeed difficult to know what exactly our Western neighbours are more worried about - the possibility of almost 50,000 soldiers being withdrawn or the prospect of some of those soldiers being sent to Poland. Without doubt ambitions and prestige play a role regarding the latter. Germany 'led' Poland as a key country for the transatlantic security system into Nato 20 years ago. But today it is under fire owing to the state of its army, underfunding, its endless burying its head in the sand when it comes to the conflicts all over the world and its North Stream policy.”
Welcome to the group of the rogue states
Ria Novosti voices solidarity with Germany:
“Citizens of other countries, including Russia, are well-acquainted with this approach because this is exactly how US representatives behave with them: They interfere with domestic affairs, deliver judgement publicly, make accusations and stick their nose in things that are none of their business. And the iron rule applies: the louder and more often a US embassy expresses its dissatisfaction, the less effective Washington is at influencing the policy of the 'rogue state' or 'renegade' in question. One can only congratulate Germany on being accepted into this group of countries. After all, the feeling of regaining one's sovereignty fully compensates for this negative assessment on the part of the Americans.”