The US is moving forward with its plans to pull troops out of Germany:
July 30, 2020
The United States has announced plans to pull nearly a third of its military personnel out of Germany in a continuing dispute over defence spending. President Donald Trump flagged the move back in June, amid a dispute with Berlin over its defence spending. Nearly half of the 12,000 troops will be moved to other locations in Europe, including Italy and Belgium. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUqhNoBw_1s
US Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced plans to withdraw approximately 11,800 American military personnel from bases in Germany. Around 5,400 troops will be sent to other European countries, while over 6,000 will return home. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges is a retired US Army officer who commanded the United States Army Europe from November 2014 to December 2017. After leaving the military, he became the Pershing Chair in Strategic Studies at the Center for European Policy Analysis, based in Washington, D.C.. He spoke to DW’s Washington Bureau Chief, Ines Pohl, about the damage the troop withdrawals will do to US-German relations and US military readiness in Europe.
DW: What does the withdrawal mean for the safety of the United States? Hodges: It hurts us because it further damages the relationship with our most important ally. And it’s more in the way that this has been done as suppose to the specifics. The timeline for something like this would normally would take years. … So the troops are not needed from a military standpoint? The withdrawal removes capabilities that are in Germany and help the United States. The troops are not there to guard Germany, they are stationed there for us. Germany is a platform that allows us to do rapid reinforcement in Eastern Europe, for example, as well as other places. 07/29/20 https://www.dw.com/en/us-german-relations-damaged-by-troop-withdrawal/a-54370725
The damages will be worse than almost anyone realizes. Consider the following, which was posted here over seven years ago:
The USA has removed its last tanks from Germany:
April 5, 2013
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany – The last 22 Abrams main battle tanks assigned to U.S. Army Europe armored combat units began the final portion of their journey back to the United States at the 21st 21st Theater Sustainment Command’s Theater Logistics Support Center Europe railhead, here…
“Moving these last twenty-two tanks symbolizes a change in war-fighting methodology,” said Ingrid Boger the TLSC-E public affairs officer. “This is the end of a long tradition and history of having battle tanks in Germany.” The last tank to load the vessel was the ‘Casa Loca,’ ‘The Crazy House.’ As the single-metric-ton war machine climbed the ramp onto the vessel, it signified the end of an era in Germany, Morris said. “It’s a major change in orientation from being a heavy force oriented on the defense of Western Europe to a deployable expeditionary force able to go anywhere,” Morris said.http://www.dvidshub.net/news/104673/21st-tsc-assists-movement-last-main-battle-tanks-out-europe#.UV7Rold49_Q#ixzz2PayoigGc
April 4, 2013
STUTTGART, Germany — The U.S. Army’s 69-year history of basing main battle tanks on German soil quietly ended last month when 22 Abrams tanks, a main feature of armored combat units throughout the Cold War, embarked for the U.S. The departure of the last M-1 Abrams tanks coincides with the inactivation of two of the Army’s Germany-based heavy brigades. Last year, the 170th Infantry out of Baumholder disbanded. And the 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade at Grafenwöhr is in the process of doing the same… “There is no [U.S.] tank on German soil. It’s a historic moment,” said Lt. Col. Wayne Marotto, 21st TSC spokesman. http://www.stripes.com/news/us-army-s-last-tanks-depart-from-germany-1.214977
Yes, as the above articles conclude, this is a major change as well as historic moment. The USA will no longer have the ground ability to respond quickly with this type of military equipment in case it has a need to in Germany. …
Not having tanks in Germany, combined with the fact that shortly Europe will control a portion of the USA’s military satellite defenses means that should Europe decide to launch an attack against the USA, the USA could have its communications’ signals blocked, thus preventing as effective of an air-based counter-strike. And without having an arsenal of tanks on the ground in Germany, the USA will not have the power on the ground to attempt to make up for satellite interference issues. (Thiel B. There are no longer USA tanks in Germany: Do Americans understand this is a serious risk? COGwriter, April 5, 2013)
With less American troops in Germany, this will also reduce the USA’s ability to launch a ground attack against Germany once the USA itself is attacked by the coming European Beast power. Germany does not view this troop reduction as something good (see Be careful what you ask for: Donald Trump confirms US pulling some troops out of ‘delinquent’ Germany) and will ultimately strengthen its own military.
The old Radio and Worldwide Church of God long expected Germany to rise up militarily and dominate Europe. Here are some quotes from the last century:
Germany and World War III … Germany is … going to spark World War III! Notice the prophecies! “O Asshur, the rod of Mine anger,” declares God. Here is a prophecy concerning Germany — the descendants of Asshur today! “The staff,” says God, “in their hand is Mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation (that is, Israel — America and Britain today), and… I will give him a charge to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (Isaiah 10:5-6). Our sins are mounting to heaven itself.
And God is going to punish us by the very nation whom we have tried to buy for an ally! It is God who is going to permit the revival of Germany — this time in a gigantic union of 10 European powers united with a great religious power — to punish us in World War III. We won two major wars against Germany in one generation. But the third time God is going to punish us as we have never been punished before! The sword of war is going to strike us “the third time” (Ezekiel 21:14), and we are going to be led away captive to Assyria and to all nations (Isaiah 11:10-12). (Hoeh H. GERMANY in Prophecy! – Part 2. Plain Truth, January 1963).
If you were God, and the nation of Israel had rebelled against you, and you wished to punish them for that rebellion -and you were going to use another nation as a rod in your hand to punish them-what nation would you pick? What nation would be best equipped to deal the crushing blow, that would grind us under its heel in cruel oppression until we turned our hearts to God and asked Him to forgive us for OUR sins, and asked Him to save us?
The nation God picked was Germany!
Just as the modern nations of the United States and Great Britain are refer red to in the Bible as Israel, so the modern nation of Germany is referred to as ancient Assyria! … “O Assyrian, the rod of MINE anger, and the staff in their hand is MINE indignation, I WILL SEND HIM against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath (rebellious Israel) will I give him a charge (command), to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets” (Isa. 10:5,6).
Yes , God is going to rake the nation of Germany as the head of a United Europe into his hand as a club to punish the nations of Israel for their rebellion against Him! Howbeit he meanth not so, neither does his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few” (vs. 7). Germany, those living in Germany, even the German government, may not yet know that they are going to join in a treaty with the Russians to destroy the United States and bring it to its knees-it is not in his “heart” to think so, but on the other hand it IS in his “heart” to destroy-the very characteristic of the Assyrian, the modern German, is a harsh, cruel, iron, dedication to militarism and destruction! This is just the kind of nation God needs to use as a rod in His hand to punish His people!
Does this then mean that the Germans at the head of a United Europe do have a spiritual mission to perform? Does this mean that they are right in claiming to be the “Defenders of the West” and the champions of Christianity!?
No!
God’s Destiny for Germany
Despite the fact that it is God who will use Germany to destroy America, Germany must be destroyed as well for HER rebellion against God—“I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks. For he saith, by the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent!” (Is. 10:12,13)
The leaders of a United Europe, when they succeed against the United States, will begin to think THEIR prudent planning, THEIR wise ideas and THEIR powerful might have made them successful! They will not realize that they have only been used as a base tool of destruction in the hand of the Almighty God! “Shall the axe boast itself against him that hews therewith? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood” (Isa. 10:15). God explains here that despite the fact that He has used Assyria to punish Israel, Assyria is also rebellious against His law and government, His way, and since it will magnify itself against the very God of creation, as Dan. 11: 36 and 37 explain, GOD WILL HAVE TO PUNISH IT FOR THIS. So GOD says, “The Lord of hosts has sworn. saying, Surely as I have thought, so SHALL IT COME TO PASS: and as I have purposed, so SHALL IT STAND; That I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountains TREAD HIM UNDER FOOT: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their (the Israelites) shoulders” (Isa.14: 24,25).
Just shortly before Jesus Christ Himself intervenes in this world’s affairs. He will take another nation as a punishing club in His hands and punish the proud Assyrians, the modern Germans at the head of the United States of Europe. “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall nor regard silver; and as for gold they shall not delight in it … Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children. And Babylon (the modern resurrected and revived Roman Empire, dominated by a fascist Germany), the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah!” (Is. 13: 17-19.) …
Since God himself has pronounced a curse on modern Israel, and is going to hand us over to the Assyrians, it is evident that we CANNOT TRUST in the American way of life either!
Nothing is left outside these three great systems and powers on earth, under man, except Anarchy! MAN’S ONLY HOPE LIES IN TURNING TO HIS CREATOR GOD! … YOUR only hope as an individual is to turn to God-to the Living Creator who is working our events here below on this earth-who is very concerned about YOU, who promises you safety from these horrible rimes to come! Heed the warning given by Jeremiah! The only ‘Way to escape these Jure prophecies of God is by REPENTANCE- nationally or individually! (Hill DJ, God’s Destiny for Germany. Plain Truth, March 1962, pp. 28-29)
Now the Germans are not the master race. They are a race of orderly people who are very great producers of certain mechanical things, have very great talents in certain directions. They are a people who have been down and out after World War I. And Hitler came around and raised them up with the idea that they are better than any other people on earth, and he practically had them hypnotized. I think a great many people in Germany today realize that, and I don’t think you find very much of Hitlerism in Germany today. However, it’s coming in a little different way today. Once again, they are right on the verge of raising this thing up once again. (Armstrong HW. Mark of the Beast. Sermon, December 11, 1982. http://www.hwalibrary.com/cgi-bin/get/hwa.cgi?action=getsermon&InfoID=1333986018)
Germany has already risen up economically. Now, Germany is starting to rise up militarily.
We made a few BibleNewsProphecy videos related to Germany and the European military:
9:49
Germany and World War 3 Could preparations for WWIII have begun? German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron called for a European army to be independent of the USA and NATO. One of the reasons was to be able to protect against the USA. Is the fourth German Reich in progress? What does the Bible teach about Germany, Europe, and WW3? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters in this video.
PESCO and a Great European Army In November 2018, French President Macron called for a “true European army” because of China, Russia, and the USA. Some others in Europe have echoed that sentiment. On November 9, 2018, US President Donald Trump called that an insult, but the next day said that the USA wanted “a very strong Europe.” Emmanuel Macron referred to Donald Trump as “my friend” and indicated a desire to strengthen Europe’s military spending. In December 2017, 25 European nations agreed to be part of a military alliance called PESCO. Europe also has NATO and IEI. Will Europe end up with “a great army”? Has Donald Trump’s announcement to withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty gotten some to say that Europe must rebel against the USA? Is the idea of a United States of Europe and a European army a “paranoid fantasy” or a biblical reality? Will the USA regret Europe becoming a stronger military power? Will the USA be betrayed by “friends” such as its continental European allies? Does the Bible teach any or all of this? Are there connections to the Beast of Revelation or the King of the North of Daniel 11? Dr. Thiel addresses these matters in this video.
Nuclear bombers for the Beast? It is reported that the Germans are looking for a new bomber to be able to be used to deliver US B61-12 atomic bombs. Does Germany already have access to American nuclear weapons it can now use? What about Belgium, Italy, and the Netherlands? Has there been increased interest in more independent European nuclear capacity since the election of US President Donald Trump? What has Berthold Kohler, Herbert W. Armstrong, Nigel Farage, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Maximilian Terhalle said about Europe’s militaristic ambitions? What about Bible prophecy? Could the Great Tribulation begin with a thermonuclear strike? What has Time, NTI, and Global Research reported about European nuclear weapons available to European nations? Is a nuclear attack consistent with prophecies? Might the coming Beast use nuclear weapons against the USA? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.
Are German leaders serious about putting together a new world order that is dominated by Germany? At least ten statements made by Germany’s current Foreign Minister Heiko Maas point to this. Does Germany want Europe to have a military which is independent of the United States? Have German elites concluded that Germany is too small to have a sufficiently dominate influence in the world without European nations to align with it? Are steps being taken to dethrone the US dollar as the world’s primary reserve currency? Are statements by US President Donald Trump helping push Germany and Europe together? Is there an ‘Alliance for Multilateralism’? Is there any United Nations’ connection? Could a German-dominated Europe be the Beast of Bible prophecy? Does Isaiah 10 point to Germany being used by God against powers such as the United States? Dr. Thiel addresses these issues and more.
There will be many unintended consequences from the Trump Administration’s troop reduction plan. Consequences that few in the USA have any idea will happen.
Consider that Lamentations 1:1-2, indicates that the USA will be betrayed and destroyed militarily by its “friends.” A German-dominated Europe does not have to be stronger in all areas than the USA, only strong enough to win when the USA is not expecting it.
The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote about WWIII’s timing and how he thought it would begin:
World War 3 brings with it THE GREAT TRIBULATION. That is now next in order. But Jesus, in foretelling this chain of world events, said the GREAT TRIBULATION would be preceded by the world-wide proclaiming of HIS Gospel. “The GOSPEL must first be published among all nations,” said Jesus (Mark 13:10), or, as recorded by Matthew (24:14): “This Gospel OF THE KINGDOM shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto ALL NATIONS; and THEN shall the END (of the world) come.” (Armstrong HW. Brethren and Co-Worker Letter, May 22, 1953)
Matthew 24:15…That will be a time when the UNITED Europe shall appear–the revival of the medieval “Holy Roman Empire.” We shall then be warned, and readied to be taken to a place of refuge and safety from the Great Tribulation. Forty-five days later “the beasts armies” will surround Jerusalem. Thirty days later the Great Tribulation will probably start with a nuclear attack on London and Britain–and possibly the same day or immediately after, on the United States and Canadian cities. The GREAT TRIBULATION, we shall fully then realize, is the time of “Jacob’s Trouble,” spoken of in Jeremiah 30:7. And Jacob’s name was named on Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:16). … We have reached the time just before a “United States of Europe” restores the “Holy Roman Empire,” under the papacy, in a union of church and state. (Armstrong HW. The Time We Are In, Now. Pastor General’s Report-Vol 1, No. 15, November 20, 1979, Page 2).
Notice that the UK, USA, and Canada are mentioned in the above writing.
Brexit will be a factor for the end of the UK. Donald Trump is a factor pushing Europe to one day end the USA. And Canada, as a strong ally of the USA and UK will essentially be collateral damage. The USA will regret what it has pushed for (cf. Daniel 11:39).
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
9:49
15:25
15:27
