Keep bases here, Germany implores U.S.

AP Wire | March 28 2004 | MELISSA EDDY/AP

[knighthawk]

WUERZBURG, Germany - As host to 170,000 American soldiers and dependents, Germany has a lot to lose under Pentagon plans to shift forces out of western Europe, and officials in areas facing a pinch are lobbying heavily for them to stay.

Economic survival for their communities, more than security, is the concern for these supporters of a continued U.S. presence in their regions, where ties are deeply rooted despite Germans' current criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq.

Many of the communities depend on business and jobs generated by the bases, located mainly in economically weak regions of southern and western Germany.

''We realized that our installations are in grave danger,'' said Karl Peter Bruch, a state official in Rhineland-Palatinate who heads an effort to lobby U.S. officials. ``And then came the question, what can we do to make us more attractive?''

The tactic has drawn mixed reviews from the Americans, who have some 80,000 military personnel with 94,000 family members in Germany.

The issue has nothing to do with Germany being unattractive, U.S. officials say. It's part of a global realignment to meet changing threats centered in Central Asia and the Middle East.

''We're still sitting where we were at the end of the Cold War,'' said Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Kohler, the U.S. European Command's point man on planning for force realignment.

But letting go is not easy for towns like Wuerzburg, where the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division has been stationed since after World War II. It is frequently mentioned as a candidate to return to the United States.

At a recent farewell ceremony for soldiers departing Wuerzburg for Iraq, Bavaria's governor stressed the Army's importance to his state.

'Dear soldiers, your presence in Bavaria . . . is indispensable to peace and stability in Europe and is a key element in our trans-Atlantic relations. The U.S. Army, `our' 1st Infantry Division, must remain in Bavaria,'' said Gov. Edmund Stoiber, a leading conservative who narrowly lost national elections in 2002 to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats.

STRAINED RELATIONS

Schroeder's relations with Washington were strained by his strong opposition to attacking Saddam Hussein's regime. But U.S. officials made it clear they're pulling forces out of Germany because of the changed international threat, not as punishment.

Nonetheless, German officials aren't giving up. Mayors from host cities across Bavaria and Rhineland-Palatinate traveled to Washington in the fall to argue the benefits of keeping bases in Germany: solid infrastructure, good quality of life and decades-old friendships.

Even though critical sites in Rhineland-Palatinate such as Ramstein Air Base and the Landstuhl medical center appear likely to stay, Bruch figures his state should do even more, since entire regions depend heavily on the $1.4 billion and 27,000 local jobs the U.S. military generates.

With German-U.S. working groups, Bruch toured all the American bases in the state to learn what they need and what would make them attractive to the restructured U.S. military.

HOUSING

A key issue was decrepit housing that didn't meet the latest U.S. security needs, so Bruch has raised about $130 million in private funds for renovation and construction of new housing for the Americans.

He also hired a Washington-based consultant and traveled to the U.S. capital to make his case. American officials reacted positively and invited him to return this spring with concrete plans for new military housing, Bruch said.

''There had been other delegations, including one from Bavaria that talked about how beautiful the mountains are,'' Bruch said. ``But we were the only Germans who went there and presented a concept.''

While in Washington, Bruch also learned more about the U.S. Army's introduction of small, highly mobile units called Stryker brigades. U.S. officials are looking to base them at strategic locations where they can train but also be ready to deploy quickly.

''That would be ideal for Baumholder,'' Bruch said, referring to a base with a large training area near Ramstein where parts of the 1st Infantry Division are now stationed. He plans to make that pitch in Washington.

Officials at European Command say they expect to have a solid picture of the future force structure in Germany by early spring.

TASK FORCE

Some cities are not waiting to find out if they are on the list of closings.

In Bamberg, which also hosts units of the 1st Infantry Division, city officials have set up a task force to grapple with issues like a flooded real estate market if the Army should vacate its 500 apartments.

[SLB]

Having spent close to seven years in Germany in the early 70's and then again in the 80's, I saw various sides to Germany. Many Americans were Kaserne rats, never left and cursed Germans and Germany each and every day. If they got out and saw the countryside and tried to follow customs the German people as a whole appreciated it. The last time we were there I made a good friend of an elderly gentleman who had been a POW in Mississippi. His english was flawless and his patience was endless in tutoring me in everyday German. He also made certain I knew how to contact him if I needed to in time of emergency. The Iron curtain was still there and the Soviet threat was dealt with daily. He told me the value of a friend who could help him as the American's helped him in WWII.

Now there is a new generation of Germans coming on board, they do not know the horrors of Hitler. They see only arrogance among Americans from the slant the media puts on everything. I say, fine let them figure out how to deal with their inflation and unemployment. My relatives are from Poland, maybe it is time to go look them up.

[harpu]

Our offshore stationed military units should be redeployed to those countries who are a part of the Iraq liberation coalition. 'F' those who lack the fortitude to stand up and defend what's right for the world, and for the United States.

[expatguy]

Das Alte Europe

[Drammach]

I can think of 2 you could burn...

"I wouldn't want to be like you"

"You lie down with dogs" (you get up with fleas)

[cyborg]

Germany you can kiss my grits!

[madison10]

"You're either for us, or against us," President Bush. Apparently it's "against us" and we need to leave Germany.

[expatguy]

Nein Nein Dummkopfs!!

[DustyMoment]

Let's be frank - the Bavarians and Germans only decided that they loved us and would miss us when we decided that we didn't need to be there supporting their socialist, rotten, anti-American government. I've no doubt that the mayors are distressed and trying to do what Schroeder won't. The mayors know how much economic damage will be done by an American pullout, but Schroeder's government could care less as long as remains in charge.

[mewzilla]

LOL. Weasels.

[Michael81Dus]

Huh? Ladies and Gentlemen,

why tf do you think this is related to the war against Iraq? And while we are on it, why do you confuse the war on terror with the war against Iraq? Even CENTCOM separates them, so why shouldn´t we do so?

Germany opposed the Iraq war, but is actively on Americas side in the war on terrorism. This is a matter of fact, and everyone who claims otherwise should look up the official websites.

Btt, the Pentagon planned to reduce its forces in Europe since years, and it´s understandable that there´s no need for 70,000 servicemen and -women in the heart of Europe. There´ll be two or three dozens of thousands soldiers kept to obtain important bases like Ramstein - a strategical key base in Europe.

But it makes sense to withdraw the 1st infantry division and the 1st armoured division. Times change, and so the US armed forces move on.

Regards from Germany,

Michael

[mikenola]

Germany can send a 1000 civil affairs, 1000 light infantry, and 2000 MPs to Iraq , and maybe we'll call it even....

(yeah, right)

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I grew up on an Army base in 1950s Yokohama, Japan, much like the military families do today in Germany. American money was the source for thousands of Japanese paychecks but beginning in about 1970, Yokohama and a half dozen other facilities were fazed out and the grounds turned over to Japan. The Japanese survived, even prospered after we left. The individual Japanese I correspond with say they are glad we left when we did.

[Broadside Joe]

"And while we are on it, why do you confuse the war on terror with the war against Iraq?"

Did Saddam or did he not support terrorism?

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1106657/posts
Saddam Warned of WTC Attack Before 9/11, Praised Bin Laden Afterwards

http://209.157.64.200/focus/f-news/1105679/posts

[OrioleFan]

I'm sure the Germans will ask the French, who will be more than happy, to move in to the bases after we leave. /sarcasm

[rrrod]

lets tear down the bases as we leave

[knighthawk]

The protsest was a combined protest against the war and also against the presence of missiles at US bases in Germany.

[NHResident]

There are 3 reasons to close the bases:
1) The bases should be located on the basis of what is best
for protecting the US - moved east they are less expensive, more efficient and more effective at doing that job.
2) It is NOT the US taxpayers' responsibility to maintain Germany's semi-socialist economy; we already are being forced to pay for the whole world's drug research.
3)It is long past the time that Europe realized they are responsible for their own defense and economic health.

[Starve The Beast]

Germany is the main economic engine of the European Union. And it's sucking eggs (-0.1% growth last quarter). If we can deal a serious blow to the German economy, it will reverberate all over the EU. And after all the overt hostility we've been getting from them recently, I think we should do it without delay.

[Michael81Dus]

Did Saddam or did he not support terrorism?

Was that the question or was that not the question?

Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq did not pose an immediate threat to the western world. It was morally right to liberate Iraq - but that´s all. I have understanding for those who do not regard this as sufficient to attack a ´sovereign´ country.