On Tuesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that he is expanding the US military presence in Germany by 500 troops.
Austin made the announcement after talks with German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer on his first tour of Europe since becoming Pentagon chief in January.
Kramp-Karrenbauer welcomed the announcement as a powerful signal of a healthy US-German relationship.
They also discussed a pending decision by President Joe Biden on whether to withdraw completely from Afghanistan by May 1.Point to be noted that May 1 is a deadline the Trump administration pledged to the Taliban militants.
Austin said at a joint news conference with Kramp-Karrenbauer that the extra 500 US troops will be stationed permanently in Germany’s Wiesbaden area as early as this fall.
They will augment our existing abilities to prevent conflict, and, if necessary, fight and win.