German leftist lawmaker asks US soldiers to leave the country, remove nuclear weapons

A member of parliament from Germany’s Left Party on April 1 called for the United States military forces to pull out from the country, as well as demanded immediate removal of nukes from the German territory. Invoking the painful German history during WWII, Die Linke MP Sevim Dağdelen said on the floor of Germany’s parliament, the Bundestag, that it was time after nearly 78 years for the US soldiers "to go home." The United States had stationed an estimated 38,500 troops in Germany and has scores of defence bases and other military installations in the country.

“After 78 years, it is now time for US soldiers to go home. All other allies left Germany a long time ago”, Die Linke MP Sevim Dağdelen was quoted as saying by Geopolitical economy outlet. 

“The US nuclear weapons must go”, she continued during the 75th anniversary of the Marshall Plan.

Economic Cooperation Act of 1948 was signed by the then US President Harry Truman for the European recovery. The bill came to be known as the Marshall Plan. While West Germany received $1.4 billion in funding from the US under the Marshall Plan, the war heavily impacted it. 

German military to face funding & supply challenges until 2030

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, earlier yesterday, warned that the German military will struggle with funding and equipment supplies until 2030, adding that no gaps can be filled prior to that timeframe. Speaking at an interview with the German weekly newspaper Welt am Sonntag, Defense Minister of Germany Pistorius said that the existing gaps in the military will persist "for over years." The minister, however, reiterated that the German government has ramped up the efforts to expand military spending and modernize the equipment.

Previously, the German Defense Ministry had noted that its military's readiness and weapons systems stood at about 70 percent with a shortfall in the stockpile of submarines, heavy-lift helicopters and Tornado fighter jets. There were also challenges with respect to the air force’s ageing CH-53 heavy-lift helicopters. The European nation also suffered a shortage of spare parts to replace the obsolescence ones.