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Huge US Military Cuts In Europe, Asia: Report
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Washington
is to carry out its hugest military restructure abroad since the
cold war era
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CAIRO,
August 14, (IslamOnline.net) – In the first major reconfiguration of
oversees military deployments since the end of the Cold War, the
United States will cut military forces in Europe and Asia, a leading
American newspaper said Saturday, August 14.
Two-thirds
of the military reduction will come from Europe, most of them are
located in Germany, and most of them will be reassigned in bases
inside the United States, the Washington Post reported.
The
US plan will be revealed during a speech by US President George W.
Bush to the annual convention of the 2.6 million-member Veterans of
Foreign Wars in Cincinnati in a bid to cast himself as the only
candidate who can keep the United States safe and understand the
stakes in the war on terror, the daily said.
"We
are reshaping our military to meet the threats of the 21st century in
a way that is considerate to the military and friendly to military
families," an aide to the American President told the Post.
The
unnamed US official did not tell the paper "how long the
redeployment would take but said it would involve lengthy negotiations
with the countries where the troops are stationed".
"The
administration has been discussing the plans for months with several
of the governments, including South Korea, and details went out to
some embassies in cables late yesterday (Friday), administration
officials said."
No
Punishment
The
new plan flows from the notion that US Army bases in Germany no longer
serve a genuine military purpose. However, senior Pentagon officials
emphasized that the move was not intended as a punishment for
Germany's lack of support in the Iraq invasion.
US
officials said exact details of the plan have not been finalized, but
some of the troops from Germany and South Korea will be moved to
expansion countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in
Eastern Europe.
Administration
officials have expressed for more than two years their intention to
move 60,000 troops out of Europe, mostly from Germany, and 30,000 from
East Asia, mostly from Japan and South Korea.
The
US Army Command recently has taken steps to restructure the US
military presence in South Korea, both moving troops from downtown
Seoul and also redeploying troops southward from posts along the
Demilitarized Zone to bases in the middle of South Korea.
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