German Defense Minister: "US Middle East Withdrawal Too Hasty... Concerns Over NATO Strategy Failure"

"Iraq and Afghanistan Troops Half Are NATO Forces"
"Leaving Too Quickly Will Have a Very High Cost"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Germany's Minister of Defense, criticized the sudden withdrawal plan of U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan announced by the Trump administration as excessively hasty. She evaluated it as a betrayal of NATO allies who have been stationed together for nearly 20 years since the Iraq War. She also expressed concerns that the Middle East situation could deteriorate severely as all the policies NATO has pursued for peace in the Middle East collapse.

According to foreign media including Defense News, a U.S. defense outlet, on the 17th (local time), Minister Karrenbauer issued a statement regarding the Trump administration's announcement of the withdrawal plan of U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying, "These regions have not succeeded in diplomatic efforts to maintain peace, and the government forces are not properly trained, so withdrawing troops is too hasty a decision," adding, "These areas are not protected by U.S. troops alone but also by NATO forces. A sudden U.S. withdrawal would lead to the failure of NATO's overall strategy."

Earlier, Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, also criticized the decision. Secretary General Stoltenberg said, "We have been in Afghanistan for almost 20 years, and naturally, all NATO allies want to withdraw and no longer wish to stay," but added, "At the same time, if we leave too quickly or without any coordination, everything we have done in the region so far could collapse, and the cost would be very high."

He continued, "If U.S. troops withdraw as planned, Afghanistan risks once again becoming a stage for international terrorists planning and organizing attacks against our allies," warning, "Extremist terrorist organizations such as the Islamic State (IS) or other terrorist groups could be rebuilt in Afghanistan." Currently, about 12,000 NATO troops are stationed in Afghanistan, composed of European NATO allied military personnel excluding 4,500 U.S. troops.

On the same day, President Trump announced that by January 15 next year, five days before his term ends, he would reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in both Iraq and Afghanistan to around 2,500. If implemented, the U.S. troops in Iraq would be reduced from the current 3,000 to 2,500, and those in Afghanistan would be nearly halved from 4,500 to 2,500. NATO is reportedly particularly concerned about the power vacuum in Afghanistan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.