Berlin faces missile gap after Trump’s troop cuts

(Chris Lunday and Victor Jack – Politico) Germany thought the United States would soon deploy long-range missiles on its soil that could strike deep into Russia and help deter an attack. That plan is now effectively dead. After Donald Trump’s move to cut thousands of U.S. troops from Germany, one of the units likely to go is a specialized force that was supposed to bring Tomahawk cruise missiles to Europe. Without it, Berlin and its allies are left with a gap in their defenses — and no quick way to fill it. “The U.S. administration’s decision not to station cruise missiles in Germany after all is dangerous,” said Metin Hakverdi, a senior member of the German parliament with the Social Democratic Party — part of the ruling coalition headed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “It creates a gap in NATO’s deterrence against Russia.” – Berlin faces missile gap after Trump’s troop cuts – POLITICO