Following an announcement by the US government regarding the withdrawal of 5,000 soldiers from Germany, BSW politician Sahra Wagenknecht has also called for the official abandonment of stationing US intermediate-range missiles within the country. Wagenknecht told the newspapers of the Funke publishing group that if not only the US troop presence but also the planned deployment of these missiles for this year were cancelled, it would represent “the best news” for German security in a long time.
According to her, Germany needs neither US troops nor US weapons of attack. Instead, the country requires a return to a new Eastern policy that prioritizes de-escalation, the rebuilding of completely destroyed trust, and common security, particularly while avoiding the specter of a nuclear war engulfing Europe.
She pointed out that the idea of a figure like former US President Donald Trump being a “madman” holding the red button for missiles, thereby deciding the fate of war and peace in Germany, had been frightening. The presence of these weapons effectively made Germany a primary target for initial attack. Wagenknecht, the former chairwoman of the BSW, noted that the party had actually demanded the cancellation of the missile stationing two years ago and had faced opposition for doing so.
The planned deployment of these US intermediate-range weapons had originally been agreed upon by former Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and former US President Joe Biden during a NATO summit in Washington two years prior. The agreement stipulated that, starting in 2026, missile systems would be placed in Germany, including “Tomahawk” cruise missiles with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers, SM-6 anti-missile interceptors, and newly developed supersonic weapons. This would mark the first time since the Cold War that such long-range US weaponry was slated for stationing in Germany, reaching far into Russian territory. Previously, the German government had stated that there was no indication that this agreement had changed.
