The Last Charge of the Paper Tiger

In late April, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz criticized US President Donald Trump’s handling of the war in Iran, saying the US is being “humiliated” by the Iranian leadership and calling out the Trump administration’s lack of anything passing for a coherent strategy when it came to conflict termination. President Trump responded by ordering the Pentagon to US combat troops from Germany. In May 2026 the Pentagon announced the withdrawal of about 5,000 troops from Germany over 6–12 months (roughly 14% of the US presence there at the time). Some planned rotational deployments were also canceled or delayed, including an armored brigade to Poland (later partially offset by a Trump announcement of additional troops to Poland) and a long-range fires unit slated for Germany. The bulk of the troops slated for withdrawal would come from the 2^nd Cavalry Brigade, a light armored Brigade equipped with Stryker infantry fighting vehicles. While the Stryker has a mixed combat record from seeing action in both Iraq and Afghanistan, its performance in support of the Ukrainian military in combat operations against Russia has been disappointing, especially when it comes to surviving in a drone-intensive environment.