Europe's defence is at stake: Why are there so many US troops in Germany?

The largest US military presence in Europe is concentrated in Germany, which has 35,000 US troops stationed there. The US is interested in Germany because it is located in the heart of Europe, Deutsche Welle reports.

Countries bordering Russia want Germany to lead the defence of Europe, and NATO has asked its members to maintain a war mentality – there is currently a war in Ukraine and there have been attacks on critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

An attack on NATO territory is a scenario that the alliance sees as very real. "The danger is advancing at full speed towards us, we must not ignore it but confront it," said Mark Rute, NATO Secretary General.

That is why the Steadfast Defender exercise has been launched, a historic exercise that will last until May and will involve more than 90,000 soldiers from the 31 member countries of the alliance, together with Sweden, explains Euronews. NATO wants to demonstrate its joint military power.

These military exercises take place in northwestern Europe and are led by Germany. The aim is to enable the alliance to transport troops and equipment from Germany to the front line in the event of war via various routes: by sea to Norway, or by land via Hungary or Poland and Lithuania.

Germany thus plays a crucial role in the logistics of the alliance and is the country that provides the most military aid to Ukraine. It is not without reason that it is known as the locomotive of Europe. But the country faces a number of obstacles and difficulties.

"There is still a lot to be done in Germany, to reduce dependencies and vulnerabilities. At the moment, Europe is still worryingly dependent on the US militarily," Ulrike Franke, an expert on German and European defense policy, told DW.

But Donald Trump's arrival at the White House has become a challenge for NATO. The president is not happy with the United States' contribution to European security and has threatened not to protect the Old Continent in the event of an attack.

In early February as reported by CNN Trump said "one of the presidents of a big country" asked him whether the US would still defend the country if they were invaded by Russia even if they "don’t pay." To which Trump replied, "No, I would not protect you."

Trump recalled telling that president."“In fact, I would encourage them (Russia)  to do whatever the h e l l they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills."

Trump has imposed a condition on NATO that it meet the set defence spending target of 2% of GDP. He has even asked that members of the alliance allocate 5% to this area, objectives that are difficult for member countries to achieve.

The US has the most sophisticated technology and the largest armed forces in NATO, with 1.3 million troops, while Germany has only 180,000. Europe's dependence on the US needs to be reduced urgently, starting with Germany taking the lead in defending the continent.

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