Post New Article

Besides Germany, US troop reduction possible
in Italy and Spain

Original Article

Posted By: Mercedes44, 5/2/2026 4:09:10 AM

(The Center Square) — On the heels of President Donald Trump threatening to reduce troops in Europe, the Department of War announced Friday the reduction of 5,000 troops from Germany within the next year. The announcement comes two days after the president posted on social media that the United States was considering reducing troops in Germany. On Thursday, The Center Square asked the president if he also was considering pulling troops out of Italy and Spain following the countries’ decisions not to provide any support in the strikes on Iran. Trump indicated that he would consider doing the same with Italy and Spain.V

Post Reply

Reminder: “WE ARE A SALON AND NOT A SALOON”

Your thoughts, comments, and ideas are always welcome here. But we ask you to please be mindful and respectful. Threatening or crude language doesn't persuade anybody and makes the conversation less enjoyable for fellow L.Dotters.


Reply 1 - Posted by: Strike3 5/2/2026 6:35:20 AM (No. 2099642)
It's a good move for a couple of reasons but the troops are going to miss those primo duty stations.
16 people like this.

Reply 2 - Posted by: DiegoDude 5/2/2026 6:41:32 AM (No. 2099644)
Dont stop there. We have people stationed in Holland, Belgium, Turkey, that we can bring home. I'll wager the troops who are pulled out, will be he ones complaining since they'll lose serious money when all the tax free pay evaporates.
16 people like this.

Reply 3 - Posted by: PostAway 5/2/2026 7:21:55 AM (No. 2099657)
Europe is a great example of the term “Biting the hand that feeds you.” Through our military we have provided protection, resources and revenue to an ungrateful continent of people so who became complacent enough to import their own mortal enemies to do menial work and reproduce and complacent enough to see no danger. In return we are despised. We should be there only to serve our own interests and all the benefits to Europeans should be simply byproducts. #2 brings up an interesting point which makes me question why we tax service members for military pay at all.
31 people like this.

Reply 4 - Posted by: skacmar 5/2/2026 8:30:16 AM (No. 2099685)
The Europeans are about to find out how much some of their local economies have come to depend on the American military bases. What happens when a portion of their population (US soldiers) move away? What about the locals who worked at the bases no unemployed? They took the US military presence for granted, even resented it. You don't appreciate what you have until it's gone.
27 people like this.

Reply 5 - Posted by: Ida Lou Pino 5/2/2026 9:06:01 AM (No. 2099703)
Italy had better prepare for a precipitous drop in the morning sales of cappuccini and cornetti. And who knows what will happen to the market for spaghetti alle vongole verace? This could become a major crisis.
12 people like this.

Reply 6 - Posted by: udanja99 5/2/2026 9:10:09 AM (No. 2099708)
Start with Spain. Let their communist government deal with the collapse of its economy and its sudden vulnerability. They have more than earned it.
16 people like this.

Reply 7 - Posted by: J. Arthur Brown 5/2/2026 10:57:12 AM (No. 2099762)
Germany and Spain deserve zero American troops. Despite her failure to support the Iran war Italy's Meloni remains the nearest thing to a friend America has among Western Europe's current leaders.
11 people like this.

Reply 8 - Posted by: Omen55 5/2/2026 5:48:31 PM (No. 2099869)
The troops can spend their money home.
3 people like this.

Reply 9 - Posted by: Rumblehog 5/2/2026 7:50:42 PM (No. 2099890)
The Philippines found out how much they depended on the U.S. Navy for their livelihoods, and screeched like banshees that we return in one form or another. Today, with China banging the drum of military aggression, it's got to be of great concern to Pacific rim nations that a much increased American presence be seen and felt over there soon. Who knows, perhaps we'll get back to the U.S. of the 1960's when we kept a "stopper" on two large powers, remotely, while taking on smaller threats, in theatre. Who knows? Maybe that's how we'll operate for the next 20 years, or so?
3 people like this.

Below, you will find ...
Most Recent Articles posted by "Mercedes44"
and
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Most Recent Articles posted by Mercedes44"
Power Grab: Dem Socialist LA City Councilmembers
Push Plan to Let 'Non-Citizens' Vote
6 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/3/2026 8:11:12 AM Post Reply
The Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) faction of the Los Angeles City Council is offering up another middle finger to the citizenry of Los Angeles, led by Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez (CD-13), who is proposing a plan to let illegal aliens vote in city elections. We have lost the plot in this nation on what it means to be a citizen and what rights and privileges are entailed. For decades, Los Angeles has had its own cottage industries built around catering to illegals, while creating burden on top of burden for the actual citizens of the city, especially their small businesses.
Suspected Somali pirates hijack oil vessel
headed to the capital
6 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/3/2026 8:05:46 AM Post Reply
Suspected Somali pirates hijacked a fuel tanker off the northeastern coast of Somalia, according to a local official and the British military. The vessel was seized on Wednesday in waters between the coastal towns of Hafun and Bandarbeyla in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland along the Indian Ocean. The tanker had departed from the port of Berbera and was heading to the Somali capital of Mogadishu when it was intercepted, a colonel with the Puntland Maritime Police Force told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to a journalist. That official said six armed men from the Bandarbeyla district carried out the hijacking.
Billionaire Tom Steyer caught in ultimate
hypocrisy at May Day rally: ‘class traitor’
3 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/3/2026 6:22:31 AM Post Reply
Democrat billionaire Tom Steyer is drawing fire after appearing at a May Day rally in East San Jose alongside a well-known labor leader, where he was labeled a “class traitor,” and embraced for it. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Federation of Labor, highlighted the moment on X, writing: “When @TomSteyer shows up to your ‘Workers Over Billionaires’ May Day Rally in East San Jose, you ask him to wear the shirt. And he does! #ClassTraitor.” The optics of a billionaire donning anti-billionaire messaging quickly ignited criticism online, with detractors blasting both Steyer and organized labor for what they see as political opportunism.
Pro-China Billionaire Funded NYC’s
May Day Events Where Zohran Mamdani Pushed
Taxing the Rich
7 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/3/2026 6:18:40 AM Post Reply
Two leftist groups that have directly or indirectly received funding from a pro-Chinese Communist Party tech-billionaire reportedly helped organize protesters in New York City’s Union Square for communist and socialist May Day events on Friday.The groups called The People’s Forum (TPF) and the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) have in some form received money from Neville Roy Singham, according to Fox News. “A self-identified speaker from PSL announced a People’s Forum spokesperson who was the second to speak into a microphone. The speaker rallied the crowd of demonstrators, asking them to repeat chants and later bashed capitalism.
2023 Video: Buttigieg Brags About Helping
Kill Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Merger
12 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/3/2026 6:12:12 AM Post Reply
In a 2023 video, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was seen bragging about how the Department of Transportation (DOT) was getting involved in opposing a merger between Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airlines. In a video from an interview in 2023 with CNN, posted to X, Buttigieg expressed that it was “important to make sure that passengers have choices” and that they “have access to low fares.” “Our department, the Department of Transportation has generally not gotten involved in these merger cases, but that’s changing today,” Buttigieg said at the time. “It is so important to make sure that passengers have choices,
Trump indicates he does not need Congress'
approval for Iran conflict because of ceasefire
8 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:46:53 AM Post Reply
President Donald Trump indicated Friday in letters to Congress that he does not need their approval to continue a military operation in Iran as the 60-day deadline for Trump formally notifying them of the hostilities looms. The United States and Israel launched aerial strikes on Iran on Feb. 28 and Trump formally notified Congress of the hostilities on March 2, meaning the 60-day window for Congress to make a declaration of war closes Friday. Trump, however, said the "hostilities" that began in February have since been terminated with the ceasefire. On April 7, 2026, I ordered a two-week ceasefire," Trump wrote in letters that went to both chambers, per NBC News.
JEALOUS MUCH? Failed CNN Journo Jim Acosta
Wants the Network to Fire Scott Jennings
15 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:44:15 AM Post Reply
Jim Acosta. who left CNN when the network decided to move his basement-rated show to a time slot that even less people would watch, is very angry that Scott Jennings is now featured. As is typical of many leftists, Acosta can’t stand the fact that there’s ONE voice on the network that isn’t explicitly anti-Trump. Acosta claims this is about Jennings telling a liberal guest to get out of his face. What Acosta doesn’t seem to realize is that his sour grapes come off as little more than petty jealousy. From Yahoo News: Media figures are calling on CNN to fire panelist Scott Jennings —
US Embassy London Issues Urgent Security
Alert As UK Terror Threat Hits ‘Severe’
15 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:36:18 AM Post Reply
The U.S. Embassy in London issued a security alert on May 1, 2026, urging American citizens in the United Kingdom to remain vigilant after the UK government raised its national terrorism threat level to “SEVERE.” The alert follows the April 29 stabbing attack in Golders Green, a north London area with a large Jewish population, which authorities declared a terrorist incident. The threat elevation signals that a terrorist attack is now considered highly likely, per Counter Terrorism Policing. On April 30, the UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the national threat level from “substantial” to “SEVERE.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the change,
From Vegas Stages To Official Warnings:
The Fake Hawaii CTO Who Fooled Everyone
5 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:34:10 AM Post Reply
For months, a man walked into some of the country’s biggest technology and cryptocurrency conferences, told organizers he was a senior state government executive, and took the stage. Nobody reportedly checked his credentials. Nobody stopped him. That changed this week when Hawaii’s Department of the Attorney General issued a public warning identifying Iqbal Khowaja as someone who has been falsely presenting himself as the Chief Technology Officer of the State of Hawaii – a title he has never held and has no authority to claim.
Trump Declares Hostilities with Iran ‘Terminated’ 12 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:32:41 AM Post Reply
President Donald Trump told Congress on Friday that any effort to use the War Powers Act to rein in the strikes against Iran is irrelevant because he has declared that the conflict is over. The 1973 War Powers Resolution says that a president is supposed to seek congressional authorization for a war if the conflict lasts longer than 60 days, according to NBC News. The U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28. Trump notified Congress on March 2, which started the 60-day time period. On Friday, Trump formally told Congress he does not need to submit anything for approval.
Trump Drops a Cuba Bombshell — Joke
or Warning Shot?
6 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:31:17 AM Post Reply
President Donald Trump spoke at the Forum Club of the Palm Beaches in Florida on Friday night, and he seemed in a jocular mood. He had a wry smile on his face as he talked about the 67-year-old problem of communist Cuba, which is only 90 miles off Key West. The long-suffering residents have faced dire economic conditions for decades, and photographs show an island country still mired in the 1960s. Meanwhile, they have a long history of cozying up to our enemies. Maybe we’ll just take it, the president joked (?). Watch:
Everytown Not Only Ones Upset by ATF's
New Rules
3 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:29:54 AM Post Reply
The ATF doesn't give us much to celebrate, but they have now. I'm mostly stoked about what's happened, and the fact that Everytown is very upset about it just makes me like them even more. Especially the whole "engaged in the business" thing. While the groundwork was laid by law in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the ATF took it way beyond what the law specified. They got stupid, as per usual, and that's part of why these changes are happening. But while Everytown made it clear they don't like it, their buddies at The Trace--which is run by Everytown's president,
Most Active Articles (last 48 hours)
Pope Leo places former illegal immigrant
in charge of red state diocese
30 replies
Posted by shalimar 5/2/2026 1:35:11 PM Post Reply
A large Roman Catholic diocese pushed back at criticism Friday after Pope Leo XIV appointed a former illegal immigrant as a bishop amid heightened tensions between the Vatican and Washington over refugees and ICE enforcement. Leo nominated Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which covers all of West Virginia. Menjivar-Ayala originally arrived in San Ysidro, California, smuggled in a car trunk after making several prior attempts as a teenager to flee guerrilla war-torn El Salvador. The bishop has also been critical of increased immigration enforcement measures, calling them a human rights concern and responding directly to critiques of the church from fellow Catholics in the Trump administration ...
Saying Goodbye to the Most Impactful and
Consequential of All the Generations
18 replies
Posted by Dreadnought 5/2/2026 7:11:35 PM Post Reply
We were originally referred to as "baby boomers," the generation born in the immediate aftermath of World War II. From 1946 to 1964, the U.S. Census Bureau tells us that more than 76 million babies were born. Why 1964 as a cutoff point? That's the year that the birth control pill was introduced in the U.S., and the birth rate began to decline. Today, we're simply referred to as "Boomers." We grew up in a period of massive wealth creation, painful social change, and the specter of nuclear annihilation hanging over our heads. All of that impacted our worldview and led to a mixed record of accomplishments
Communist and socialist groups call for
'revolution' and seizure of property at
Minneapolis May Day rally
16 replies
Posted by NorthernDog 5/2/2026 4:32:36 PM Post Reply
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Communist and socialist groups called for a "revolution" at a May Day rally in Minneapolis Friday, highlighting the growing influence of far-left organizations at an event traditionally centered on workers’ rights. Some of those demonstrators denounced capitalism and pushed for the seizure of private property and the means of production, marking a shift in tone from past May Day rallies that primarily focused on labor issues. (Snip) Demonstrators carried signs reading "F--k ICE," "Abolish ICE," "Fight Trump’s Agenda," "No Kings" and "Stop the War," while others waved red flags associated with the Communist Party USA and held
NYC hospitals gearing up for nightmarish
World Cup diseases as fans descend on metro
16 replies
Posted by mc squared 5/2/2026 11:40:45 AM Post Reply
For the past two years, New York and New Jersey infectious disease experts have been laser focused on prep and training for the upcoming FIFA World Cup games — with 1.2 million visitors from around the world set to watch 48 teams battle it out on the pitch. Across the US, those numbers skyrocket to 6-7 million. And with that massive influx of foreign visitors comes the threat of infectious — and sometimes deadly — diseases, including viral hemorrhagic fevers, RSV, tuberculosis, measles, varicella, hepatitis A, typhoid, malaria, SARS, hantavirus and even “high consequence” diseases with high mortality rates, like cholera and Ebola.
With $1M per body in play, some in Congress
asking if organ donors are declared dead
too quickly
16 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/2/2026 7:40:35 AM Post Reply
Some in Congress are pushing ahead with proposed reforms of the organ donation industry. That, after a bipartisan investigation exposed shortfalls, abuses, and even dangers. Since 1988, more than half a million U.S. organ donors have made 1.1 million transplants possible. 170 million Americans are registered donors, yet more than 100,000 people still wait. Organ Procurement Organizations, OPOs, are nonprofits tasked with managing removal and transfer. As an industry insider, Nycki Martin became a whistleblower. She’s a former surgical preservation coordinator for Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates, or “KODA.”
Does Islam Work? 15 replies
Posted by Hazymac 5/3/2026 8:35:24 AM Post Reply
Is Islam good for you? Is it actually beneficial for individuals and societies? These questions have seldom, if ever, been asked. Most people in America today, having been the unwitting victims of a quarter-century of propaganda, assume that Islam, like all other religions, is peaceful and benign, beneficial to both individuals and societies, albeit “hijacked” at the hands of a “tiny minority of extremists,” the likes of which we see in all religious traditions. Yet the constant drumbeat continues: there are jihad attacks around the world virtually every day, and increasingly in the United States. All of their perpetrators insist they acted in accord with Islamic teachings. There is a distressingly
JEALOUS MUCH? Failed CNN Journo Jim Acosta
Wants the Network to Fire Scott Jennings
15 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:44:15 AM Post Reply
Jim Acosta. who left CNN when the network decided to move his basement-rated show to a time slot that even less people would watch, is very angry that Scott Jennings is now featured. As is typical of many leftists, Acosta can’t stand the fact that there’s ONE voice on the network that isn’t explicitly anti-Trump. Acosta claims this is about Jennings telling a liberal guest to get out of his face. What Acosta doesn’t seem to realize is that his sour grapes come off as little more than petty jealousy. From Yahoo News: Media figures are calling on CNN to fire panelist Scott Jennings —
US Embassy London Issues Urgent Security
Alert As UK Terror Threat Hits ‘Severe’
15 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/2/2026 9:36:18 AM Post Reply
The U.S. Embassy in London issued a security alert on May 1, 2026, urging American citizens in the United Kingdom to remain vigilant after the UK government raised its national terrorism threat level to “SEVERE.” The alert follows the April 29 stabbing attack in Golders Green, a north London area with a large Jewish population, which authorities declared a terrorist incident. The threat elevation signals that a terrorist attack is now considered highly likely, per Counter Terrorism Policing. On April 30, the UK’s Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre raised the national threat level from “substantial” to “SEVERE.” Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood confirmed the change,
Iran Warns ‘Renewed Conflict Likely’
as Trump Rejects Latest Proposal — ‘Fully
Prepared for American Foolishness’
14 replies
Posted by 4250Luis 5/3/2026 9:30:49 AM Post Reply
A senior Iranian military official warned Saturday that a “renewed conflict” with the United States is “likely” after President Donald Trump said he is “not satisfied” with Tehran’s latest proposal and signaled military options remain on the table, saying he “can’t imagine” the offer would be acceptable given Iran has “not yet paid a big enough price” for its actions over the past 47 years. Speaking to reporters before departing West Palm Beach, Florida, President Trump said he would review the proposal after being briefed only on the “concept of the deal,” noting, “They’re going to give me the exact wording now…
Jonathan Turley vs. the Mob 13 replies
Posted by Hazymac 5/3/2026 6:43:12 AM Post Reply
The MSM, radical left Democrats, and progressives like Hillary Clinton, spout that we are experiencing an 'existential threat to democracy.' For example, Dr. Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way wrote, "U.S. democracy will likely break down during the Second Trump administration in the sense that it will cease to meet standard criteria for a liberal democracy -- full adult suffrage, free and fair elections, and broad protection of civil liberties." Hillary says, "Our democracy is in crisis..." Her claim sounds ominous, worthy of further investigation. Demosthenes (384 BC -- 322 BC) was a Greek statesman of ancient Athens, was a staunch defender of Athenian democracy. He also saw how democracy
Indianapolis prom party mass shooting
leaves 1 dead, 3 wounded
12 replies
Posted by mc squared 5/3/2026 12:06:48 PM Post Reply
At least one person was killed and three were injured in a mass shooting at a post-prom party in Indianapolis early Sunday, cops said. Police were called to a rental house on the city’s north side at around 3:30 a.m. to reports of gunfire, WTHR reported. When officers arrived, they found one woman who was critically wounded. She was rushed to the hospital and later died of her injuries. Cops later received reports of two more victims who had managed to walk into a nearby hospital for treatment. All four victims are believed to have been shot at the same property, a short-term rental where a post-prom party was being thrown.
2023 Video: Buttigieg Brags About Helping
Kill Spirit Airlines, JetBlue Merger
12 replies
Posted by Mercedes44 5/3/2026 6:12:12 AM Post Reply
In a 2023 video, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was seen bragging about how the Department of Transportation (DOT) was getting involved in opposing a merger between Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airlines. In a video from an interview in 2023 with CNN, posted to X, Buttigieg expressed that it was “important to make sure that passengers have choices” and that they “have access to low fares.” “Our department, the Department of Transportation has generally not gotten involved in these merger cases, but that’s changing today,” Buttigieg said at the time. “It is so important to make sure that passengers have choices,
Post New Article