Washington Postpones Plans to Reduce US Troops in Europe

JAKARTA - US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly had prepared additional plans to reduce the number of US troops in Europe before the proposal was finally suspended.

Hegseth had previously planned to announce the proposal at a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) top military officials in Brussels last month.

Citing several sources familiar with the discussions, The Wall Street Journal reported that the reduction plan went beyond the cancellation of the deployment of one armored brigade to Poland and the withdrawal of one infantry brigade from Romania that had been previously announced.

However, the proposal was eventually suspended after it was shared with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who also served as President Donald Trump's national security adviser, along with a number of other senior officials.

According to the report, Hegseth originally intended to convey to the NATO military chiefs that the United States was preparing for an additional reduction of troops in the European region.

In May, the administration of President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw about 5,000 US military personnel from Europe.