Al Jazeera reports: While Berlin has said the vessels would only take part in operations to clear the narrow shipping lane after hostilities ended, the United States has relied heavily on bases and military infrastructure across Germany throughout its campaign in Iran.Merz – a former senior adviser at BlackRock who has long been seen as closely aligned with US interests – said the troop withdrawal came as no surprise. The defence ministry described the move as “foreseeable”.Republican politicians Roger Wicker and Mike Rogers, chairs of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, expressed “grave concern” over the withdrawal.
Advertisement The move would return troop numbers roughly to levels last seen before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, meaning the operational impact may be limited. More consequential, analysts say, could be a separate decision to cancel plans to station long-range weapons systems in Germany.On Monday, the German defence ministry said there had been no “definitive cancellation” by the US of a plan to deploy a battalion with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles and SM-6 missiles to Germany.A spokesperson of the Chancellor’s Office said on the matter, “It is important to implement the development of our own systems in Europe and Germany.”The US had planned episodic deployments of long-range fires capabilities in Germany from 2026.
Background
Due to their long range, these missiles can strike targets deep inside Russia.Germany is vital to US operations in Middle EastWith some 36,000 troops currently stationed on its soil, Germany is home to one of the largest US deployments abroad.During the Cold War, Germany served as NATO’s front line against Soviet expansion. Until today, its bases are considered essential to US operations across the Middle East, clustered in the country’s south and southwest.The most prominent is Ramstein – the US’s largest installation in Europe, which serves as a military hub for drone operations, from where transmission of data and video signals via satellite and fibre optics enables pilots in the US to carry out strikes.
Key facts
- Advertisement The move would return troop numbers roughly to levels last seen before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, meaning the operational impact may be limited.
- “A state that provides military infrastructure and logistical support cannot credibly describe itself as neutral.
- Under these conditions, it might be possible for Germany to contribute to the protection of free shipping in this strait, which is vital for global trade.
What this means
It also functions as a global transit hub for troops and military equipment, situated close to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where wounded US personnel were treated during the Iran war.Stuttgart hosts the US European Command and US Africa Command headquarters, as well as those of US Marine Forces Europe and Africa.According to media reports, facilities close to Stuttgart have also been used to transmit coded communications to Iran, believed to be intended for intelligence operatives on the ground. Additionally, about 20 US nuclear weapons are stationed in Germany – a presence some critics want removed, while others consider it a cornerstone of NATO deterrence.Lea Reisner, a Left Party politician and member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee, has been among the most vocal critics of Germany’s role in the conflict.“The German government claims that Germany is not a party to this war and at the same time, dispatched a minesweeper toward the Strait of Hormuz,” she told Al Jazeera.
“A state that provides military infrastructure and logistical support cannot credibly describe itself as neutral. That is not neutrality. It is dishonesty.” Advertisement Jurgen Hardt, a lawmaker with Merz’s CDU party and the foreign policy spokesperson of the CDU/CSU parliamentarian group, told Al Jazeera that a “combat mission” in the Strait of Hormuz is “out of the question for Germany”.“Any military engagement by the [army] in the Strait of Hormuz would require an international mandate and an agreement among the parties to the conflict.
Originally reported by Al Jazeera. This story has been edited and re-presented by BRIC Team.
