Republican concerns over US troop withdrawal
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 2 May 2026
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Republican chairmen of the US congressional armed services committees have said they're very concerned about the Pentagon's decision to withdraw five thousand troops from Germany. Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers warned that prematurely reducing America's forward presence in Europe risked undermining deterrence and sending the wrong signal to Vladimir Putin. NATO says it's seeking clarification from Washington about the plan.
Also in the programme: FIFA will allow a team of Afghan women refugees to represent their country in international tournaments; and we look back on the life of a former racing driver and Paralympian.
(Photo: A soldier pilots a drone during the 'Combined Resolve' exercise at 7th Army Training Command's Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels. More than 3,800 personnel participate in the exercise series, which is a reoccurring U.S. Army Europe and Africa exercise held several times throughout the year for its rotationally deployed troops. US-led army exercise 'Combined Resolve' - media day, Hohenfels, Germany - 30 Apr 2026. CREDIT: ANNA SZILAGYI/EPA/Shutterstock)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:09.0 | Hello and welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from London. |
| 0:13.8 | I'm James Kamara Sami. |
| 0:15.5 | And later on in the programme, more than a sporting dream come true. |
| 0:19.2 | It means a lot to us. |
| 0:20.5 | It means we can still hope. |
| 0:22.4 | We can play in international tournament, |
| 0:25.3 | which is great for us. |
| 0:27.0 | I could hear my heartbeat just a moment |
| 0:29.3 | I was talking to Mr President on that night |
| 0:31.5 | on behalf of team. |
| 0:33.1 | And yeah, it was the most beautiful news of my life. |
| 0:37.5 | We hear from two members of the Afghan women's football team in exile |
| 0:40.9 | who have been told that they can play in international tournaments. |
| 0:45.0 | We begin, though, in Germany, |
| 0:46.6 | where the biggest contingent of US armed forces in Europe |
| 0:49.6 | is about to get smaller. |
| 0:51.4 | 15% smaller, in fact, after the Pentagon announced on Friday, it was withdrawing |
| 0:55.9 | 5,000 troops over the next year. The Trump administration has long signalled it once a smaller |
| 1:01.2 | military footprint in Europe as part of its push to get NATO allies to share more of the burden. |
| 1:06.9 | And today, the German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the decision was foreseeable. |
| 1:12.2 | The timing, though, is notable. It comes soon after Chancellor Friedrich Meertz made his strongest |
... |
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