{ "archive_path": "archive/1789812343.505759", "base_url": "www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean?traffic_source=rss", "basename": "could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean", "bookmarked_date": "2026-09-19 10:05", "canonical": { "archive_org_path": "https://web.archive.org/web/www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean?traffic_source=rss", "dom_path": "output.html", "favicon_path": "favicon.ico", "git_path": "git/", "google_favicon_path": "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.aljazeera.com", "headers_path": "headers.json", "htmltotext_path": "htmltotext.txt", "index_path": "index.html", "media_path": "media/", "mercury_path": "mercury/content.html", "pdf_path": "output.pdf", "readability_path": "readability/content.html", "screenshot_path": "screenshot.png", "singlefile_path": "singlefile.html", "warc_path": "warc/", "wget_path": "www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean@traffic_source=rss.html" }, "domain": "www.aljazeera.com", "extension": "", "hash": "1B4R86YT0X6HMB55TZHP", "history": { "archive_org": [], "dom": [], "favicon": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--output", "favicon.ico", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain=www.aljazeera.com" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:51.317288+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "favicon.ico", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789812343.505759", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:50.578333+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "git": [], "headers": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--head", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean?traffic_source=rss" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:51.695731+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "headers.json", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789812343.505759", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:51.325412+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "htmltotext": [], "media": [], "mercury": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/@postlight/parser/cli.js", "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean?traffic_source=rss" ], "cmd_version": "1.0.0", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:59.337011+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "mercury", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789812343.505759", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:55.608119+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "pdf": [], "readability": [ { "cmd": [ "/app/node_modules/readability-extractor/readability-extractor", "/tmp/tmps2lk0slz", "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean?traffic_source=rss" ], "cmd_version": "0.0.11", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:55.593921+00:00", "index_texts": [ "The United States is reportedly considering a significant reduction in its military presence in Europe after its allies there refused to allow Washington to use their airbases for the war on Iran.US media reported this week that senior Pentagon commanders are expected to submit plans to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the coming days.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4NATO jet shoots down suspected Russian drone over Lithuanialist 2 of 4Trump says Canada becoming EU \u2018associate member\u2019 could be \u2018hostile act\u2019list 3 of 4Italy to deploy warships to protect shipping through Bab al-Mandeblist 4 of 4Why does Canada want to join the Europe-led JEF military partnership?end of listThe news comes amid Russia\u2019s ongoing war on Ukraine and as European countries increasingly sound the alarm about possible sabotage operations on their territory; Germany accused Russia of a drone attack on an airport earlier this month.Europe has, for decades, depended on its partnership with Washington via the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to deter a possible Russian attack. However, relations between some European capitals and Washington have deteriorated in the past year.Here\u2019s what we know about what options the US could be considering:About 130 soldiers with the US Army\u2019s 87th Division Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Division Sustainment Brigade, wait to board a chartered plane during their deployment to Europe, March 11, 2022, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, US [File: Stephen B Morton/AP Photo]Why is the US reviewing its presence in Europe?The Pentagon is weighing several possible options for reducing troops and military assets in Europe as part of a NATO review it announced in June, according to NBC News, which cited security sources.Hegseth alluded to the review at a NATO meeting in Brussels in June, when he lashed out at fellow members and said new changes would be \u201cdesigned to ensure that NATO is moving fast and irreversibly toward Europe leasing and stepping up to take primary responsibility for the defence of Europe\u201d.Hegseth said European allies\u2019 decision not to provide US forces with access to bases in Europe to launch attacks on Iran was \u201cshameful\u201d.\u201cThese allies, they put America\u2019s sons and daughters, our sons and daughters, at risk by denying them the predictable access, basing and overflight that never should have been in question at all.\u201dWhat options is Hegseth considering?One option could be to withdraw one-third of the estimated 68,000 US troops stationed in Europe. This option would largely affect soldiers stationed in Germany, Italy and Spain, NBC reported.A second, more drastic scenario could see 40,000 soldiers exit, along with military aircraft, ships, and weapons.The US may also consider moving troops away from stations in Central or Western Europe to NATO\u2019s eastern flank, closer to Russia.Hegseth is expected to reach a final decision by November 6, NBC reported.Has the US already withdrawn troops from Europe?Yes. About half of the 2,000 US soldiers stationed in Romania departed last year.Some 5,000 US troops are in the process of withdrawing from Germany, where more than half of the European contingent is based.The announcement of their withdrawal in May came after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticised the US\u2019s war on Iran. Trump threatened to go \u201ca lot further\u201d, but US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly blocked the White House from withdrawing as many as 25,000 soldiers at the time, according to US media.What would a US military drawdown mean for Europe?A mass exit of troops and assets would be significant for Europe as it would undermine the US\u2019s nuclear deterrence posture on the continent, said Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund.While Russia is not likely to attack NATO members, Moscow would certainly see advantages in such a development, the analyst said.\u201cBut it really depends on where and when the troops are removed,\u201d Lesser added, pointing out that it would be hard to estimate the effect on Europe for now. If troops are moved from Western Europe to the eastern flank, for example, that might not be concerning since countries like Germany and France are rapidly boosting their military capabilities, he said.But the US, too, would lose out by withdrawing troops, as its ability to project power across Europe would be reduced, experts say.Senior members of Trump\u2019s Republican Party have voiced concern about that.The move could send \u201cthe wrong signal to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin,\u201d Senators Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers said in a joint statement after the troops from Germany started departing.Why are relations souring between the US and Europe?Since his first term, Trump has repeatedly accused European NATO members of forcing the US to carry most of the financial burden of the alliance. Last January, Trump said NATO countries should start spending 5 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, rather than rely on US support, but many NATO members are still struggling to meet the current 2 percent target.NATO members have already agreed to boost spending on defence to 3.5 percent of GDP by 2035.Adding to Trump\u2019s annoyance, however, has been the refusal of European countries to join the ongoing US-Israel war on Iran by allowing the US to use European bases. Some members, such as Spain and Italy, have actively spoken out against Washington\u2019s war.Another issue has been tariffs. The EU exports a large amount of its goods to the US, but Trump slapped a 15 percent tariff on European imports as part of his trade war last year.Also in the last year, the EU and Washington faced off after Trump said the US wanted to acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark positioned strategically in the Arctic and with untapped reserves of oil and other resources. Trump threatened European countries with additional trade tariffs if they stood in his way. He later dropped that threat and said he would not attempt to take Greenland by force.On Friday, Trump announced that he had reached a new deal with Greenland and Denmark which would grant the US \u201cpermanent control over security and all other needs\u201d in Greenland, suggesting it could provide the US with access to natural resources as well.Are other US allies facing issues?Taiwan, another traditional US defence partner, is also finding it harder to rely on Washington.Since 1950, Taipei has depended on the US\u2019s presence in the Pacific to deter a possible attack from China. However, Trump has made several comments that have put that relationship into question.For example, in the run-up to the 2024 presidential elections, he said Taiwan should pay Washington for protection. He has also said Taiwan should \u201ccool down\u201d because the US would rather not have to go to war in the region.As the war on Iran continues, the US has increasingly diverted military assets from the Pacific to the Iran conflict, raising concerns about Taiwan\u2019s vulnerability. Most recently, the Trump administration redeployed its last aircraft carrier remaining in the Pacific to the Middle East to relieve the Abraham Lincoln, which had been at sea for months without a break.The US has also appeared unwilling to support Saudi Arabia, with which it has security agreements, against Yemen\u2019s Houthi militia, while US allies in the Gulf have all sustained severe damage to energy and military facilities from Iranian strikes against US assets." ], "output": "readability", "pwd": "/data/archive/1789812343.505759", "schema": "ArchiveResult", "start_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:53.904234+00:00", "status": "succeeded" } ], "screenshot": [], "singlefile": [], "title": [ { "cmd": [ "curl", "--silent", "--location", "--compressed", "--max-time", "120", "--user-agent", "Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10_15_7) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Chrome/118.0.0.0 Safari/537.36 ArchiveBox/0.7.4 (+https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/) curl/curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/19/could-us-pull-one-third-of-troops-from-europe-what-that-would-mean?traffic_source=rss" ], "cmd_version": "curl 8.14.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)", "end_ts": "2026-09-19T10:15:53.896483+00:00", "index_texts": null, "output": "Could US pull one-third of troops from Europe? 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