Newsmax75%
NATO Says Alliance Strong as WH Pulls Troops From Europe
By Sam Barron0%
5/21/2026, 8:48:30 PM
BS Summary: The article has not yet been analyzed.
European allies of the United States believe they still have a strong relationship even after the Trump administration pulled troops from bases on the continent.
"The U.S. will not leave NATO," Sorin-Dan Moldovan, Romania's deputy defense minister, said Thursday at a Politico event in Prague.
Moldovan said Europe needs to defend itself more.
"We don't need the Americans to tell us that, we should do that on our own," Moldovan said.
"We will need a European army, but for now, we need to adapt to new realities."
Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced the United States will withdraw more than 5,000 troops from Germany after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who recently criticized the administration's handling of Iran, questioned whether Trump had a clear strategy in the Middle East.
The Pentagon also recently canceled the deployment of an armored brigade of 4,000 troops to Poland, a move lawmakers said caught them and U.S. allies by surprise.
The U.S. maintains a significant military presence in Europe — a legacy of World War II and the Cold War — with more than 36,000 troops stationed in Germany alone and tens of thousands more across the continent.
The deployment has also supported operations in the Middle East, Africa, and the Arctic.
"The transatlantic relation[ship], while indispensable, is changing in nature," Czech President Petr Pavel said at the Politico forum.
Karel Řehk, the Czech Republic's top general, said they should not always rely on the United States for help.
"Europe must take over responsibility, at least on conventional deterrence on itself; it's a geopolitical reality," Řehk said at the forum.
"Let's do our best to remain functional but not rely on the big brother."
Former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Russian President Vladimir Putin is laughing about Trump's troop withdrawal.
"These actions, these statements are bad, and the timing is extremely bad," Fogh Rasmussen said at the forum.
Analysis
Hover over highlighted words in the article to view the associated bias or fallacy analysis.