FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 15, 2021
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Biden will meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House. Defense Priorities Policy Director Benjamin H. Friedman issued the following statement in response:
“The Biden administration will want to hail the restoration of U.S. relations with Germany and other allies, but we should not exaggerate the changes from one president to the next. Despite a failed attempt by President Trump to remove some U.S. troops from Germany, the bipartisan consensus continues to favor an excessive U.S. military footprint in Europe, one better suited to the early Cold War. Today, Russia is relatively weak and European allies, starting with Germany, are prosperous and capable of taking more responsibility for their security. And the Biden administration has unfortunately followed the Trump administration in trying to dictate German energy policy, by using sanctions to oppose the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, albeit not as aggressively as some would like.
“Washington should encourage German efforts to foster strategic autonomy rather than suppressing them. We should also drastically reduce U.S. forces in Europe to encourage a shift of Europe’s defense burdens to Europeans. If U.S. allies feel compelled by the Russian threat to spend more on defense, that is good, as more capable allies are a service to U.S. interests. If they don’t spend more, we should respect their judgement and still appreciate the savings. Doing less militarily in Europe doesn’t mean having bad or distant relations with Germany, a point we can reinforce by dropping opposition to Nord Stream 2.”
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