WIREDGOV

The US plan to withdraw some troops from NATO’s eastern flank, including Romania, is neither a surprise nor catastrophic. But it signals a shift in America’s posture at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

US and Romanian officials announced on October 29 that soldiers with the 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, will not be replaced when they return home from Europe.

No Surprise

In a press release remarkably devoid of details, US Army Europe and Africa described the move as part of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s ‘deliberate process to ensure a balanced US military force posture.’ It stressed that ‘this is not an American withdrawal from Europe or a signal of lessened commitment to NATO,’ but rather a sign that Europeans ‘are meeting President Trump’s call to take primary responsibility for the conventional defence of Europe.’

The Romanian defence minister Ionuț Moșteanu said in a hastily arranged press conference that Romania and its allies had been ‘informed’ of the adjustment of American troops deployed on the eastern flank. He also pointed out that that this was not a withdrawal, but rather the suspension of the rotation of a brigade that had elements in several NATO countries, including Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovakia.

Importantly, he noted that around 1,000 US troops would stay in Romania and cooperation with the US, which is Romania’s main supplier of military equipment, remained strong. Before the announcement, the number of US troops in Romania was estimated at around 1,700.

“No Big Deal”

It has been widely expected that the Trump administration’s Global Posture Review, due later this year, will focus on the Western Hemisphere and the Indo-Pacific region, leading to a reduction of US troop levels in Europe, especially the rotating forces deployed by the previous administration in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, US force levels in Europe have fluctuated between 75,000 and 105,000 troops, according to the US European Command.

A NATO official said that ‘even with this adjustment, the US force posture in Europe remains larger than it has been for many years, with many more US forces on the continent than before 2022.’

President Donald Trump was asked on Air Force One, as he flew back from Asia, about the thinking behind reducing troops in Romania. ‘It’s not very significant, it’s not a, not a big deal,’ he said.

Click here for the full press release