inside nato countries really would like to see u.s. troops stay where they are and in fact to be increased not decreased in any way not necessarily moved out of germany so again i don't think any nato allies are cheering this move on so that begs the question terry how does this affect u.s. needle relations. you know again things have been worse between the u.s. and nato when president trump summarily announced he was going to make this move that he was going to pull troops out of germany nobody was warned and that was a cruel cruel surprise for both nato allies as well as even some u.s. military officials so this time in the secretary general's announcement and. i noted this very very carefully he said that the allies have been consulted on this move now i know that there was a meeting monday at nato where they were briefed on what was going to be announced today so again if you are nato and you've seen much worse treatment out of washington this doesn't look so bad you were consulted you were told what was going to happen and not all

proceeds rather unilaterally in us foreign policy at the same time it tends to bring nato along nato might not be. in the decision making process in the consultations seem not to happen as openly and as early with nato allies as we've seen in other administrations and this is a source of frustration it's not however a conflict openly between the united states and its allies it's simply a. and edition 2 a slow restriction between the alliance but this isn't a fatal blow by any we have seen generally trying times at the same time we do have a very strong u.s. presence in europe militarily and support in practice for nato and back continues and so we've continually seen this push and pull between support and criticism and gauge mencia and unilateral action and that continues and it is simply what it received at the moment but by no means is this qantas like the alliance but if it doesn't sink the airlines christine it will certainly change the airlines the way the airlines things and the power it has to intelligence gathering there's absolutely has intelligence sharing implications but

pays more toward the nato budget than germany the german government has promised to match u.s. contributions beginning next year at 16 percent of the total nato budget trump often points out that germany does not meet a nato guideline that all members should spend 2 percent of their economic output on the fence germany only spends 1.4 percent but that guideline refers to spending on each country's own military not directly to nato medo members are now seeking answers as to how the new u.s. plan will be carried out and what it will mean for the future of european security there has been pushback from the u.s. congress and analysts say even the pentagon was reluctant to carry out trumps demand for troop withdrawal you can imagine the arguments and the discussions and disagreements that would have been going on back in washington inside the pentagon and with the white house but at the end of the day the president says we're going to do this and so the department of defense it was ok well here's here's how we're going to do it there are about 24000 u.s. troops will remain in german

and nato in their military interests of bavaria of course in. he's an interested party here because the u.s. base at graf and in bavaria is the lawyer just over sees us only base in the world and others within the political scene here really quite disappointed pointing out that you know the us presence in germany is known about defending germany primarily it's about the us all operational capability and the logistics base. in the region and around the world which is proven and established here in germany. would be good to you we know political germany does not like this plan what about nato it's a big part of this equation. that's right brant and nato did say to the united states while it was making this plan that it would prefer to see no u.s. troops taken out of europe and secondarily that i mean it's preference was that they stay in germany. because that's what that's what everyone's used to that's a very a very strong base i think that it could have been worse all 12000 could be headed back to the u.s. which assignment pointed out is not in

rocking the boat from within draws from nato missions in the mediterranean sea with turkey over a naval incident deepens tensions in the military alliance. with your latest global on domestic news developments this is you know me international team coming live from moscow a low and welcome. it is the final day of a week of voting that's been taking place in russia on proposed changes to the country's constitution while many are ready have their say by voting online president putin has declared today a national holiday to a lot of folders who haven't yet done so the chance to cast their ballot. yes. the polls are close though in other parts of the country aren't they in the far east and the idea of venture shipping up to date while all you need to do is take one quick glance at a map and realize the extent of russia's territory it's close it's enormous and it's got numerous times there is a lesson in total so lost here in the capital there a still a couple of hours for 30 in the far east polls have closed on results are starting to trickle and at this stage they are indicating that with

government and nato partners. there has been some disappointing reaction from -- disappointed reaction, like from the bavarian state premier. he said this is the wrong decision, that it weakens the u.s. and nato interests. bavaria is an interested party, because the u.s. army is the largest overseas base in the world in germany. others in berlilin, really quite disappointed. pointing out the u.s. presence is not about defending germany, it is about the u.s. operational capability and the logistics in the region and around the world, which has proven established here in germany. brent: germany does not like this plan. what about nato? it is a big part of this equation. >> that's right. nato did say to the u.s., while it was making this plan, that it would prefer to see no u.s. troops taken out of europe. secondarily, the preference was a stay in germany. -- was they stay in germany. that is what everyone is used to. it is a very strong base. it could have been worse. alltel thousand could be headed back to the u.s.

it is asked nato to intervene to get involved investigate this but clearly paris feels that nato wasn't doing enough in terms of this dispute perhaps not coming down hard enough on ankara would be paresis point of view because what france has now donna said to nato that it's simply going to pull out its operational forces its ships and its aircraft from this operation in the mediterranean this joint nato operation to enforce security in the mediterranean thanks for that about there live from paris recovery operations are underway in turkey her boat capsized in a lake in the south 6 bodies have been recovered it's believed around 60 refugee migrants were on board as it was crossing make them across town and city of course all that was in istanbul and says police have spoken to a witness to the incident. the rescue teams are still trying to reach the boat and the rest of the bodies that are believed to be that who have who are who are who are believed to have droned on the night of such a day this is this is not the 1st incident on lake one because a van is a border border city with iran

troops stationed here in germany but soon 12000 of them will pack up and leave germany nato republicans and democrats in washington they are all against the move so why the downsizing now if you asked the u.s. defense secretary he'll say this is strategic and investment to better deter russia and china but if you ask donald trump he'll say this is about sticking it to america's freeloading friend germany the country trump claims that refuses to pay its own way i'm burnt off in berlin this is the day. let's be clear i think germany is the wealthiest country in europe germany can and should pay more to its defense well i think this is a lose that really challenges the very heart of the defense the nation should this is something we want to do we feel very good about and with regard to how quickly units will move i said i'll just say a matter of weeks. before. this thing. also coming up tonight announce his latest mission to mars and why it could open a new chapter in space exploration the 1st time in history when nafta has dedicated a mission to what we call astrobiology the search for li

his goal is to fracture nato and their sense is the best way to fracture nato is to bring them down in afghanistan which is the graveyard ofempires . he pays mercenary forces to come after us and that's very consistent with putin's methods. to develop the wagner group to attack our forces in syria, take over oil facilities in libya , they conducted assassination attempts in the uk. against former spies. and obviously they conducted our own democracy in the 2016 election. the assessment is very clear. there's no question here that russian president vladimir putin ordered an influence campaign in the 2016 election aimed at trying to influence what happened in the us presidential election and a further assess and this is something we've just got to continue to remind ourselves that putin is going to apply the same lesson in the current election in this country as well as an elections that are taking place with our us allies read it's not a hoax, it's a real threat. it works and you can look at theconsequences . it's strained relations between the united states and nato allies . there even

as part of our nato commitment. to ensure that russia will not take any steps of aggression against other former soviet states area and thirdly, i think diplomatically, strengthening those sanctions you talk about could be part of the package area so that didn't get a clear message that we are not going to tolerate his behavior. that message of strength will take us a long way towards making clear that putin is going to pay a price for behaving the way he does. and right now that message isn't there. >> thank you, i yield back. >> chair, i represent brian fitzpatrick from angelina. >> thank you mister chairman thank you for calling. it's an amazing perspective mister secretary and i'd say the apple doesn't fall from the tree with your son. it's the kind of man i know. and thank you for being you. thank you for always putting your country and of your party and because of that you have more respect than you realize you across the political spectrum including from every republican that i know and i wish we could pull i

and nato deterrence to russia strengthening nato reassuring allies and improving u.s. strategic flexibility that's enough from a white house course when it comes to how could he who has more on this decision there is broad concern about this move even from some members of the president's own republican party who agree with the president and his assertion that germany has not been paying its fair share of nato obligations but they also believe that this has offered stability having u.s. troops positioned there and that's why many are concerned still the u.s. president not only giving us a clear picture of what this is going to look like knowing that there will be a withdrawal of at least $12000.00 troops that it will be a mix of army and air force soldiers but also giving us a clearer picture of why the u.s. president speaking from the white house as he left and departed for texas very angry pointing the finger at germany saying that for too long he believes that it is taken the united states for granted you have to remember there's a u.s. election in november and the t

looks and sounds like richard as president trump continues to accuse germany of being a freeloader at nato and not paying its bills also coming up tonight turkey tightening its control over social media activists say a new law will help the government experience since your ship and erode the opposition's access to the public. good to have you with us the united states has unveiled plans to withdraw nearly 12000 troops from right here in germany president trump justifying the move today saying that germany has not been paying enough for its defense and that the u.s. quote did not want to be the suckers anymore a u.s. defense secretary marc esper 1st announced the plan as part of a redeployment of forces here in europe which he says will strength in nato. the current eucom plan worry position approximately 11900 military personnel from germany from roughly 36000 down 224000 in a manner that will strengthen nato and hance the deterrence of russia and meet the other principles i set forth of the 11900 nearly 5600 service members we will be repositioned within nato countries and approximately 6

accused of being a free nato and not paying its bill also coming.

troops will remain in germany but some observers worry trumps costly message to its nato allies could weaken the whole alliance. let's talk about this more now with our political correspondent thomas sparrow thomas what have been some of the reactions here in berlin. the german government had a brief statement in which it said it simply took note of the decision it would call it in 8 steps but it also said that u.s. plans were not finalized so could still change but if you ask further politicians and members of parliament here in germany for example that decision has been met with criticism there are those who say that this not only affects negatively the bilateral relationship which is already by the way very strained but it also weakens not only nato but u.s. defense as well very different reaction here in germany came from the left party the left to be welcomed the decision instead it didn't go far enough but except for that reaction most politicians here in germany were actually very critical of the u.s. decision ok look get our viewers up to speed here on the u.s. troop presence

as you saw official policies supporting nato as this we have the u.s. defense secretary this slip of the tongue saying nato role is to avoid peace of which he didn't say that but we don't look it we're in the 21st century what is the role for nato briefly in the 21st century is there a future for it but to me it's a indeed an absolute power structure. but i'm in the minority you know most would say it protects europe and. europe and for us but another way is there a better way of doing it. well europe's economy is as large as the us economy i mean if need to work to dismantle was true company italy or france will have nuclear weapons so i mean the threats to europe are not so much military or at least in my point of view of course being this is r t you don't mean that that is of units probably would be more to pro russian in the west but to stop progress and send them up a list of the situation so that has more of me migration of cyberwar and some kinds of things and no think europe should be able to take care of this by itself. the us is on paper the s

more into nato the constant refrain from the united states correspondent a political correspondent i'm starting to. brussels correspondent. with me on the line bob would like to come to you 1st let's just pick up on what ines was reporting germany should be paying more into nato that seems to be the one line that seems to define the relation between the e.u. and the united states i was looking at a change during germany's presidency. you know the horrible thing here really is that all this is a huge misunderstanding i mean nato is not a club where you have sort of like a common kitty and everybody has to sort of throw some money and nato is in the lines of defense alliance for everybody has to take care of their own defense capabilities and then in the end they pool their capital kept ability so that's a completely different picture but it is president on a trump who has sort of come up with this and he uses this as a propaganda tool against germany that is one of the few constants really in his policies and so it is really difficult or more or less impossible to sort of go against tha

-- price for that one final point, as you look at nato, poland is ninth out of the nato nations print the u.s. is leading in terms of funding. what will change in this administration especially if trump is reelected? i do not have to look to the future. i am just trying to understand what just happened. trump has president made his wariness of these organizations well known. his relationship with germany has not been a good one. i think it would be a difficult relationship to repair, not that he would care to necessarily. host: with regard to the poland election, what was the turnout like? the highest turnout since 1989, and it was remarkable, how energized people were. what was striking was the vibe in the building. also all around the world you have this divide, but you saw and so you had a real generational vibe which i think is going to be the next story in poland politics going forward. host: marc anthony santora is the east and central european road chief, and thank you for being with us. we will continue our look at poland and what it means for that country and the future of eu

announced the move as part of a redeployment of forces in europe he said was aimed at strengthening nato and president donald trump had said previously he intended to take troops out of germany after accusing the government here of being delinquent in defense spending now here is mark s. 1st speaking earlier. the current you can play and we reposition approximately 11900 military personnel from germany from roughly 36000 down 224000 in a manner that will strengthen nato enhanced the deterrence of russia and meet the other principles i set forth of the 11900 nearly 5600 servicemembers we will be repositioned within nato countries and approximately 6400 will return to the united states though many of these or similar units will begin conducting rotational deployments back to europe. ok dave used chief political editor michelle is following the latest developments on the story for us hi michelle and now we finally have the details on this troop withdrawal how big of a blow is that for germany it's a significant vote particularly the communication this was seen as more of an off the cuff com

hoover is part of a redeployment of forces in europe that he says will strengthen nato as in donald trump previously previously said he intended to take troops out of germany accusing the german government being quote the link went in defense spending here is defense secretary marc esper speaking earlier. the current eucom plan reposition approximately 11900 military personnel from germany from roughly 36000 down 224000 in a manner that will strengthen nato enhanced the deterrence of russia and meet the other principles i set forth of the 11900 nearly 5600 servicemembers we will be repositioned within nato countries and approximately 6400 will return to the united states though many of these or similar units will begin conducting rotational deployments back to your defenses secretary esther speaking of their earlier let's take you now to simon young he is standing right outside the u.s. embassy here in berlin 1st of all have there been any official reactions to this decision. well i know there's been plenty of critical reaction to this decision for is that snow but what can the defense ex

together and to respond to threats from outside nato in this regard the u.s. troops did mcniff it's in sharp for decades in germany and europe of course we understand the argument the europeans and in particular the germans should do more for security in europe yes that's true but we do already a lot we stick to our commitments and we fulfill our obligations. what does all that mean to the transatlantic relationship i mean you have been in the white house today sarah a little bit what you experienced there today with a very open discussions in the white house was there is some an understanding on the global threats we are confronted with there's always a global understanding really to use our nato alliance to stand together and to respond to those threats and that's why it's not only about. chessman but we have to discuss how to deal with russia and china for example we have to continue the trust for dialogue at. high level business or we speak in the offer of the united nations you know united states to europe and to germany the united states of america prese

will this withdrawal have on the nato alliance as ability to fulfill its mandate. well let's start off by saying that these are plans so we're not even 100 percent sure this will happen and if you look at the response on capitol hill lawmakers are very much intent on making sure this doesn't happen i mean nobody nobody there seems to think this is a good idea so if it were to go through what was announced by secretary esper and the supreme allied commander yesterday there would be some capability and headquarters moved to belgium here to the supreme allied commander. operational center down in mons belgium there would also be a couple of battalions moved to italy there maybe more forces moved to poland this morning we've seen the baltic step up and say hey we'd love to get some of those troops i mean made those 1st 1st preference would be that no troops get moved out of germany and that more troops are constantly added to europe but as it stands now they would very much like to see that as many as possible remain here in europe and not go back to the united states

and nato deterrence of russia strengthening nato reassuring allies and improving u.s. strategic flexibility and eucom operational flexibility and of course at all times we were prior ties our most important resource our service members and their families no moves will take place without thorough communication with our people continue to engage with congress and consultation with our allies thank you and i will now turn it over to the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general hayden and then you come commander general walters. thank you mr searcher good morning everyone and thanks for being here today. looking back at history nato was established more than 70 years and you're watching al-jazeera that was mark esper the u.s. secretary of defense speaking live at the pentagon announcing that the u.s. is planning to withdraw about 12000 troops from germany they will keep nearly half of them in europe we understand the exact figures around about $11900.00 some of those troops are going to be in despair a star crossed other u.s. military bases within europe some of

strategy which then would spark a debate within nato if. shallow we heard it there that would spark a change of strategy so how strategically important is it for germany and for nato to have u.s. troops stationed here. it's vital for germany in nato and actually neighboring poland which is hoping to see at least part of those troops being we stationed or at least rotated through the country there was rather upbeat about that very prospect whereas here and it hasn't been as widely debated as donald trump probably would have hoped for but clearly it's once again a signal by the u.s. president that its support from the u.s. comes at a price and that by many experts but also by members of congress from his own republican party is in part seen as damaging u.s. interests because it once again puts question marks over nato's resolve overall in the end and that could in the end also have an effect on the weights that the united states carries in the world so everybody will be looking very closely at those precise numbers but clearly germany saw its

and nato left. part of it was motivated by a desire to gain leverage, and another part is a legitimate concern about the spillover of terrorists into central asia and russia. however, this was overstated. this was a misinformation campaign suggesting the united states was supporting isis and was deliberately promoting it. there is a combination, as with many things,, of truth and fiction as they pursue their overall goal, which is to undermine us. they did not want to see us successful. i agree with everything dr. rolander said and the general said. this is about afghanistan, but it is also about outside of afghanistan. this is about reminding americans that wherever you go in the world, you might not be safe. they want us to think twice. this is a pretty broad policy, as well as afghan specific. >> real quick, what can we do to make sure this doesn't happen again? we can talk all these broad we need to cut to the chase. ma'am, what do you think? you have 40 seconds. but alsotical message, disruptio

strategy which then would spark a debate within the nato if. ok michele that we heard the concern there i mean why is it so strategically important for germany and for nato to have u.s. troops stationed here. well it this all stems still from the cold war period but at the essence it's about nato sticking together and if we can believe those initial reports that are coming through there might be a withdrawal of up to $12000.00 troops and almost half of those will be returning to the u.s. so measured by germany's own benchmark this will be seen as a disappointment here in germany and it's expected to spark discussions amongst nato partners this of course being a decision that will learn about in detail from august the secretary of defense of the united states shortly that is hotly debated in the united states as well and it shows a fault line not just between the u.s. and its key nato partners with germany having the 2nd largest number of troops stationed worldwide after japan but also frictions within the trump administration so everybody will

to nato any alliance sharing the burden so we can all deter russia and avoid peace in the board. big tex for most powerful c.e.o.'s get a grilling by u.s. congress over political censorship and competition. and hundreds of british health workers march on downing street to demand a pay rise for all in the sector saying this still battling the pandemic of front line but only getting applause. by their life force international's world news h.q. moscow is kevin owen here for the next 30 minutes with the latest update to stay with me to is to take you through it 1st then the united states is slashing its military presence in germany it's withdrawing or redeploying nearly $12000.00 personnel is part of a long running dispute with berlin claiming it's not paying enough into the nato military alliance or foe on the sidelines of all that a slip of the tongue by the u.s. defense secretary raised a few eyebrows. i've said very privately to my counterparts as well about the importance of nato any alliance sharing the burden so we can all deter russia and avoid peace in the course of he's pai

he wrote "the accidental admiral: a sailor takes command at nato" about his time at nato. "the leader's bookshelf" co-authored by our manning hensel. "sea power: the history and geopolitics of the world's oceans" in 2017. "sailing true north: 10 admirals and the voyage of character" came out last year. he has a new novel coming out in 2021 entitled 2034, a novel of the next world war. if you have questions or comments you would like to make to admiral james stavridis, here's how you can do so. 202 is the area code, 748-8200 if you live in the east and central time zone, 202-748 have a 8271 in the mountain and pacific time zones, you can text a question or comment to the admiral, 202-748-8903 is the text number. all our social media sites as well, twitter, facebook, instagram, you can make comments,@booktv is our handle. we will scroll through all of these addresses including our email address so if you want to make a comment to the admiral you can do so. admiral, we talked about some of your books but one book we didn't mention was a proposed book called deep state. what i

other principles i set forth of the 11900 nearly 5600 servicemembers we will be repositioned within nato countries and approximately 6400 will return to the united states though many of these or similar units will begin conducting rotational deployments back to europe the defense secretary there well i spoke earlier to retired u.s. general ben hodges he commanded u.s. forces in europe for 3 years he's been quoted as calling this move a gift to the kremlin and i asked him if he stood by that assessment. yeah i do to get a 30 percent reduction of u.s. capability that's in germany and half of that going back to the states the kremlin did nothing to change its behavior to reduce its aggression and it still occupies crimea still killing ukrainian soldiers every week still occupy as part of georgia is still supports your side regime in syria it's done nothing to change its behavior and yet it gets a gift of a significant u.s. reduction in germany and maybe even more importantly the damage to the german american relationship the most important ally that the united states have in europe is germa

eastern flank of the nato will and of course it can be understood as a reaction. to the development of the recent 30 years until 1990 the german unity. to make it made sense to keep u.s. troops near to the german eastern borders and now nato has been enlarged the boundaries shifted eastwards and so it has some logic. to follow this development and to keep in mind the south eastern flank of nato thank you very much and safe travels thank you. race religion politics there are many reasons that drive asylum seekers to come here to germany in most cases it's possible to prove religious or racial discrimination but it's much harder to prove your sexual orientation how do you prove that your life is in danger because you're gay tonight e w's joel doughboy introduces us to 2 refugees from the same country one is a well to stay the other faces deportation. to similar stories 2 very different outcomes twice and matia both left to make a escaping homophobic persecution in a small town in western germany these 2 friends taking steps towards a new life but only one can stay b

some soldiers will be repositioned in nato countries including belgium and italy. the rest will return to the united states. the u.s.-european command will also move to belgium. speaking to reporters on wednesday outside the white offered asident trump different explanation for the move. he said it was to punish germany for not contributing 2% of its as required for members of the nato. mr. trump: germany is delinquent. they are at 1%. they should be at 2%. and everybody should be at 4%. >> while germany's military up, it is still smaller than other nato allies. republicans and democrats in the u.s. congress have long held that germany should be paying more for shared defense. but most oppose removing u.s. troops from germany, fearing it stabilityn regional and nato's capacity to push back against russia. the plan to withdraw u.s. troops from germany is expected to cost billions and could take years to execute. and it could be reversed if president trump does not win reelection in november. can really how can, al jazeera, the white house. pin, al jazeera, the white

meeting to discuss possible sanctions on turkey france is temporarily pulling out of a nato operation in the mediterranean it's demanding nato forces an arms embargo on libya turkey is supporting the un recognized government to tripoli but has about the joins me now live from paris natasha what else to foreign minister have to say today. as a french foreign minister talking to the parliament in the senate he said that he wanted eve foreign ministers to made for this exceptional meeting on july the 13th to talk about the european union's relationship with turkey what sort of relationship it wants to have said the foreign ministers must talk openly and without to boo about this relationship and the inference is from france's foreign minister is that perhaps some of turkey's actions recently simply aren't compatible with what he would see as values shorey of the draw for example says that france believes that turkey is fueling instability in libya by importing francaise syrian fighters into the country in fact this echoes words from president mack rock who just earlier this week on tuesd

nato has launched a probe into the incident though it has yet to officially communicate its findings that the pharmaceutical zhu's. subcomandante continue the lack of a strong organism usefull said some of the deal liz expanse of don't know don't. now this parliament conclusion france nevertheless halted its participation in the alliances joint maritime operations. on wedndnesday frenchh foreign ministers only victory all also announced that u. sanctions against ankara may be considered. earlier this week the french president also weighed in accususing turkey of sideliningng its commitments to nato. i mean i definitely so you'll join maybe that. is it will be the key. no it is okay not clear films ventana. up business meet the only be the p. message multitiple the combatants yet used the p. this is. supposed to sit in the responsibility to the community will keep itt. alive among. the little. ten between inter have in recent months over the libyan conflict while ankarara supportsts thehe u. n n. recognd government of national accord francis suspected of backing rebel leader. haftar f

president has been questioning the organization of nato questioning its effectiveness and its allies even questioned one of its cool principles which is article 5 this idea that if one nato members attack the others will come to eat a and he has repeated his accusations made last year and again made in the last few weeks that the organization is brain dead let me take you back to my statement. i think this is the best example of it when 2 members are confronted with the situation we are living in not denouncing it it's intolerable so what's going on here well this is to do with the latest incident between france and as you alluded to that this is an incident that place in the last weeks in the mediterranean sea a french ship was out as part of the nato operation it wanted to verify what was on board that vessel then from says that the turkish vessel to respond so france couldn't verify that it wasn't breaking a un simple go to libya it then says that the vessel appeared not to. the french fake it 3 times with its control radio and many people say this came so we try to be close to th