A Military Drawdown in Germany? US Force Posture in Europe from Trump to Biden

IF 1.2 3区社会学 Q2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Washington Quarterly Pub Date : 2021-01-02 DOI:10.1080/0163660X.2021.1894718

Alexander Lanoszka, Luis Simón

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引用次数: 2

Abstract

The Biden administration has promised to revitalize a transatlantic alliance that has experienced much strain during Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump’s focus on strategic competition with China, equivocal attitude toward Russia, repeated criticisms of NATO and Germany, and insistence that Europeans pay for their own defense have raised questions about the future of US defense strategy in Europe. Nevertheless, his administration in fact committed additional money and troops to deterring Russia from threatening US allies. Amid such confusing signals, one of Trump’s last acts that roiled transatlantic relations was to announce in July 2020 a plan to reduce military personnel stationed in Germany from about 34,500 to 25,000, return some portion of these troops to the United States, regroup someair and commandassets in Italy andBelgium, and reinforce theUSmilitary’s rotational presence in Poland and the Black Sea region. The announcement of these measures stunned European allies, who had not been previously consulted. The Pentagon’s 2020 plan embodied the main themes and contradictions that characterized Trump’s defense strategy in Europe: its net reduction of US forces reflected Europe’s downgraded strategic importance to Washington, partly explained by the need to prioritize Asia and partly by the belief that Europeans must be responsible for their own defense; it punished Germany; and it sought

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德国的军事缩编？从特朗普到拜登的美国驻欧洲部队态势

拜登政府承诺重振在唐纳德·特朗普总统任期内经历了巨大压力的跨大西洋联盟。特朗普对与中国的战略竞争的关注，对俄罗斯的模棱两可的态度，对北约和德国的反复批评，以及坚持让欧洲人为自己的国防买单，都引发了人们对美国在欧洲国防战略未来的质疑。尽管如此，他的政府实际上承诺投入更多的资金和军队来阻止俄罗斯威胁美国盟友。在这些令人困惑的信号中，特朗普搅乱跨大西洋关系的最后行动之一是在2020年7月宣布一项计划，将驻扎在德国的军事人员从约34500人减少到25000人，将其中一部分部队返回美国，重新集结意大利和比利时的一些空军和指挥资产，并加强美国军队在波兰和黑海地区的轮换存在。这些措施的宣布震惊了欧洲盟友，他们此前没有征求过他们的意见。五角大楼的2020年计划体现了特朗普在欧洲防御战略的主要主题和矛盾：其对美军的净削减反映了欧洲对华盛顿的战略重要性降低，部分原因是需要优先考虑亚洲，部分原因在于欧洲人必须对自己的防御负责；它惩罚了德国；它寻求

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Washington Quarterly Multiple-

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

5.90%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Washington Quarterly (TWQ) is a journal of global affairs that analyzes strategic security challenges, changes, and their public policy implications. TWQ is published out of one of the world"s preeminent international policy institutions, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), and addresses topics such as: •The U.S. role in the world •Emerging great powers: Europe, China, Russia, India, and Japan •Regional issues and flashpoints, particularly in the Middle East and Asia •Weapons of mass destruction proliferation and missile defenses •Global perspectives to reduce terrorism Contributors are drawn from outside as well as inside the United States and reflect diverse political, regional, and professional perspectives.