Tens of thousands of US soldiers have been permanently stationed in Germany since the end of the Second World War. They last received a visit from a Federal President more than 25 years ago.
It was just three years ago that light shock waves ran from Washington to the tranquil Upper Palatinate in north-eastern Bavaria. Out of anger at what he considers to be far too little defense spending in Germany, US President Donald Trump threatened a partial withdrawal of US troops.
His mouthpiece in Berlin, US Ambassador Richard Grenell, struck a sharp note: “It is really insulting to expect that the US taxpayer will continue to pay more than 50,000 Americans in Germany, but the Germans will use their trade surplus for domestic purposes,” said he in a dpa interview.
That was in August 2019. When Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier visits the Grafenwöhr military training area in the Upper Palatinate this Wednesday, such harsh sentences will not be heard. Because the situation has changed completely – already with the change in the White House and Joe Biden taking office at the beginning of 2021 and especially now with the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
Office of the Federal President: Date “quite special”
There has long been no talk of withdrawing 12,000 soldiers, as Trump then planned in 2020. There should be 4,500 in the Grafenwöhr region alone. With currently a good 12,500 soldiers, it is one of the largest US bases in Europe.
Steinmeier’s visit was “an appointment that may not look so special, but it is definitely special,” said the Office of the Federal President in advance. This is reflected in small things such as the planned welcome with military honors – almost like on a state visit – by US Ambassador Amy Gutmann and General Darryl Williams, the Commander-in-Chief of the US Army Europe/Africa. It is also reflected in the fact that, for the first time in 25 years, a Federal President has visited US soldiers stationed in Germany.
There are currently around 38,100 nationwide, plus more than 18,000 civilian employees of the US armed forces. And there will be more. At the NATO summit in Madrid, Biden just announced that he would send 625 additional air defense soldiers to Germany.
Visit with signal effect
From Grafenwoehr Steinmeier wants to thank all US armed forces for their service in Germany. He wants to send the message that NATO’s unity and determination has never been more important than it is now in the face of Russian aggression. And he wants to give a clear signal that Germany stands by its alliance obligations and knows that it has to do more than it has in the past.
Steinmeier is thus continuing with the USA, the largest ally, what he has done in recent months on numerous trips to the smaller allies in the Baltic States and on NATO’s eastern flank. It’s about building confidence after the hesitant military aid to Ukraine raised doubts about Germany’s reliability.
After all, the federal government around Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) can now point out that a 100 billion program for the Bundeswehr has now been launched. That Ukraine got heavy weapons from Germany too. And that Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) has just pledged a German division with 15,000 soldiers to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank.
All of this did not go unnoticed in Washington. At the G7 summit at Schloss Elmau, the US President confirmed that the Chancellor had done “an incredible job”. The unity of the West is in no small part his merit. Not a bad omen for the Federal President’s visit to the US soldiers in Grafenwoehr.
Source: Stern
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