According to CNN, sources revealed that US President Trump considered reducing US troops in Europe by a third as a signal to NATO. This spring, at a White House meeting, Trump was furious upon learning that NATO allies had refused to participate in his war with Iran and conceived an idea. He asked: What if we reduced US troops in Europe by a third? Would that send the right signal to those so-called allies? Around the time Trump raised this idea, the Pentagon abruptly canceled two US troop deployments to Europe and ordered the withdrawal of other personnel from the region. According to two sources, US Defense Secretary Hergsays originally planned to announce even larger reductions at the June NATO meeting, potentially reaching a third of Trump's proposed reduction. However, after consultations with other senior government officials, the plan changed; Hergsays instead announced a six-month assessment of US troops in Europe.
