Germans Largely Support US Troops Removal as also US Nuclear Weapons, Says New Poll

Editor Foreign Affairs

Frankfurt: A new poll found a plurality of Germans supporting a reduction in the number of US troops based in Germany.

The Trump administration last week announced plans to remove nearly 12,000 US troops from Germany “within weeks.”

 

President Donald Trump said he was removing the troops because Germany didn’t spend enough money on its defence.

Allies of Chancellor Angela Merkel reacted angrily to the move amid tension between Berlin and Washington.

 

The YouGov poll, however, found more Germans supporting a reduction in troops, by 47 per cent to 32 per cent.

A majority in the same poll supported the removal of US atomic bombs from Germany.

 

A plurality of Germans in a new poll supported a reduction in the number of US troops based in the country, with a majority wanting to see all 20 US atomic bombs located in Germany removed as well.

Sixty-six per cent of the 2,076 Germans who responded to the YouGov survey said they wanted all 20 bombs to be removed from Germany. Just 19 per cent said they wanted them to stay.