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Trump’s Troop Plan Stuns Germany and Rocks Postwar Order

  • German foreign minister calls ties with U.S. ‘complicated’
  • Merkel caught off guard in sign of disconnect with Washington
US soldiers in Grafenwoehr, southern Germany, on March 4.

US soldiers in Grafenwoehr, southern Germany, on March 4.

Photographer: Christof Stache/AFP via Getty Images

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President Donald Trump’s directive to pull 9,500 troops from Germany hits home hard for friends of America like Edgar Knobloch, whose Bavarian town has been home to U.S. service members for seven decades.

Like Chancellor Angela Merkel, the mayor of Grafenwoehr was caught off guard by the latest sign of the U.S.’s deteriorating ties with a loyal ally.