Berlin must break with its \u201crelationship of extreme subservience\u201d to America and its foreign policies \u201cmarked by breaches of international law,\u201d Sevim Dagdelen, the deputy head of the Left party\u2019s faction in the Bundestag, said on Friday. Germany must demand that US forces withdraw, along with their nuclear weapons, she added.
\u201cAfter 78 years, it is now time for the US soldiers to go home,\u201d Dagdelen announced at a parliamentary event marking the 75th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. The US military bases act \u201clike extraterrestrial zones where the [German] constitution does not apply,\u201d the MP, who is also a member of the parliament\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee, said.
Washington uses its bases in Germany to wage wars abroad and launch \u201clethal drone strikes,\u201d Dagdelen said, adding that some of these actions are \u201cin breach of international law.\u201d
She also criticized the regular NATO meetings at America\u2019s Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where military aid to Kiev is discussed. Washington hosts these conferences \u201cas if the Occupation Statute were still in force,\u201d the MP said, adding that Berlin also allowed the US to put Germany \u201cin the line of fire\u201d with the German-made Leopard tank deliveries to Ukraine.
German lawmakers made a decision on the withdrawal of America\u2019s nuclear weapons in 2010, but these arms are still in place, Dagdelen said. \u201cWe stand by our position: the US nuclear weapons must go,\u201d she added.
\u201cThe US administration gives the impression that they do not want allies, just loyal vassals,\u201d the MP said, pointing to America\u2019s negligence toward its partners\u2019 interests and demands. According to Dagdelen, \u201cfewer and fewer countries around the world are prepared to accept this.\u201d A true friendship should be based on mutual respect for human rights and international law, the MP added.
Germany hosts by far the largest number of US military personnel out of all European nations. Over 35,000 American troops were stationed on its soil as of 2022. Italy, which hosts the second-largest number of American soldiers, trails far behind, as around 12,000 US military personnel were stationed there at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n