Pentagon weighs pulling nearly a third of U.S. forces from Europe

The Pentagon is weighing a plan to withdraw a substantial portion of U.S. military power from Europe, potentially removing planes, ships, weapons and more than 25,000 troops - roughly a third of U.S. forces stationed on the continent. The proposal, described by multiple current and former U.S. and Western officials, would shift tens of thousands of personnel and key capabilities out of Europe, representing one of the most significant U.S. force posture changes there in recent memory.

That scale of drawdown has prompted sharp concern from NATO partners, who warn the move would undercut deterrence at a time when Russia is widely viewed as an increasing threat. The core specifics that matter are the scope (25,000-plus personnel and associated platforms and armaments), the potential operational impact on allied readiness and reassurance, and the intra-government deliberations that produced the proposal. Officials characterize the plan as drastic, and allied pushback underscores the geopolitical stakes of any decision to realign U.S. forces away from Europe.