U.S. plans withdrawal of warships, aircraft from Europe

Two senior European officials confirmed that the U.S. is planning to withdraw military assets from its European allies, the New York Times reported today. The German media had previously reported similar details. According to the Times, the number of F-16 and F-15E fighter jets will be reduced from about 150 to 100, maritime reconnaissance aircraft from 26 to 15, and aerial refueling tanker jets from 8 to 0. These reductions, along with U.S. troop withdrawals and relocations, leave Europe in a difficult strategic position. “nato’s main problem is that, as long as Trump is president, there is no longer any faith that the U.S. would come to the Europeans’ aid in an emergency,” said Anton Hofreiter, a German lawmaker from the Green Party. Watch for Germany to use this growing distrust in the U.S. to its advantage and center Europe’s military strategy around its own.