US troop withdrawal: empty threat or grave danger?

The Independent urges the Europeans to push ahead with their defence plans:

“A US military withdrawal from Europe, if this is what President Trump is broaching, would be nothing less than the end to a key part of the post-Second World War settlement that has lasted since 1945. Representatives of both Germany and Nato say that they are seeking 'clarification' from Washington ... In the meantime, the best course for the Europeans is probably to keep calm and carry on with whatever plans they have for a defence system less dependent on the United States – and to do so as rapidly and as harmoniously as they can.”

Former EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni calls on the EU in La Repubblica to take the bull by the horns:

“There's little point sugarcoating this. The announced withdrawal of American troops from Germany and perhaps also from Italy and Spain may be a symbolic act, but then defence is built on symbols. And if Trump ridicules Nato as a 'paper tiger', as if it were some tedious multilateral organisation rather than a powerful military alliance dominated by the United States itself, the Europeans will be forced to respond. ... Certainly not by contributing to the disintegration of the alliance, but by taking responsibility for our own defence. ... The days when the Americans were in charge will never return: nostalgia is not a strategy.”

The Süddeutsche Zeitung is alarmed:

“Five thousand fewer GIs in Germany, that might sound bearable. ... But apparently a US artillery unit that possesses long-range missiles and cruise missiles will also be affected by Trump's decision. As agreed by Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden in 2024, this unit was due to come to Germany this autumn. It was explicitly intended to send a message to the Kremlin of transatlantic strength, a tangible signal of deterrence. ... The fact that Trump is now cancelling the planned redeployment of this particular unit after spending yet another hour on the phone to Putin could – if one were pessimistically inclined – almost be interpreted as an invitation to the Kremlin.”

Columnist Pierre Haski comments in France Inter:

“The withdrawal of some of the 35,000 US troops still stationed in Germany will not change the reality of European security. ... Germany has announced an historic defence budget and, like the other Europeans, is preparing for life without the US. ... The true threat comes from Vladimir Putin, who could interpret the cooling of transatlantic relations as an invitation to test Europe's resolve.”

Pùblico sees a complete withdrawal of troops as unlikely:

“Trump's threats are gradually losing credibility. When the president announces the withdrawal of the 37,000 American soldiers stationed in Germany, the threat is real, but putting this into practice will take years. It is from the American base in Ramstein, the largest on the continent, that the US armed forces coordinate part of their operations in the Gulf. It is also from military bases in Europe that the US can project its power into the Middle East and Africa. Withdrawal would be a massive own goal that Congress itself is very unlikely to authorise.”

For De Volkskrant, Trump's threats are yet another sign of how much the US is isolating itself:

“In the wrangling for power, the Iranians have decades of knowledge and diplomatic experience to rely on, while in Washington amateurism and arrogance rule the day. Trump and his cronies are still in denial that this makes the US look completely untrustworthy and unreliable on the world stage. But from a global perspective, US isolation is already underway. Europe has now understood that dependence on the US must be reduced and new alliances forged.”