NBC: Pentagon weighing drastic troop drawdown in Europe

The US Defense Department is reportedly considering withdrawing tens of thousands of troops from Europe.

US-based NBC News carried the report on Thursday, citing current and former US and other Western officials.

It said the cuts could reach 25,000, or roughly one-third of the total, or even up to 40,000, or half.

NBC said Germany, Italy and Spain are among the countries that would likely be affected, adding that the leaders of all three nations have clashed with President Donald Trump over the US military operation against Iran.

NBC says the prospect of a dramatic US troop reduction has alarmed both parties in the US Congress and European governments.

It says opponents of the plan believe the cuts will "invite Russian aggression, sow doubts among US partners in other parts of the world and deprive the American military of logistical hubs that enable the United States to move its forces quickly to the Middle East or Africa."

The Trump administration has been pressing other NATO members to play a bigger role in their own defense. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month review of the US military presence in Europe at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in June.

A Pentagon official told NHK that the department is engaging extensively with the State Department, Congress, NATO and US allies as part of the review. The official added that "the review is still ongoing."