Vox's Worldly

Jenn and Alex discuss the Trump administration’s controversial decision, formally announced this week, to move forward with a plan to withdraw nearly 12,000 troops from Germany. Critics from both parties say it’s a gift to Russia, while the Pentagon argues it’s a necessary repositioning of forces to better deter Russia in Eastern Europe. President Trump, though, says he’s doing it because Germany isn’t paying its fair share in NATO (a misleading claim at best). Alex and Jenn talk through the merits of the different arguments and examine what the troop reduction could mean for the future of Europe. References: You can find the official Pentagon statements on the decision here and here NATO has a bunch of defense spending charts Deutsche Welle has what you need to know about the troop withdrawal decision here and here Members of Trump’s team seem to really like the idea That time when Merkel rebuffed Trump’s G7 summit invitation, kicking this whole drama off Find Trump’s comments for the decision here Th