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US Planning Historic Shift of Military Power Abroad
People Daily (China) ^ | 06.03.03

Posted on 06/03/2003 9:15:16 AM PDT by Enemy Of The State

US Planning Historic Shift of Military Power Abroad
 

The United States is planning to shift most of its forces from Germany, South Korea and Japan in the most sweeping realignment of American military power since World War II, US foreign and military officials said on Monday.

The plan would reorient America's presence in Europe eastwards to Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, and shift US power in eastern Asia toward southeastern Asia, with options for new bases in northern Australia, the Philippines and even Vietnam being explored, the NBC television network reported Monday.

Currently there are about 70,000 American troops based in Germany, 38,000 in South Korea and 47,000 in Japan, of which about30,000 are based on the tiny island of Okinawa.

The combination of new threats, the friction US troops are causing domestically in these countries and a desire on the part of the Pentagon to rethink the structure of the military in general, has convinced the Bush administration that a thorough reconfiguration of America's overseas presence is in order.

"What's going on is partly a long-overdue adjustment, and partly a reaction to what is perceived as a very ungrateful attitude toward us in some quarters," a senior US military officerwas quoted as saying.

As part of the sweeping plan to reposition US forces around theworld, US forces have largely pulled out of bases in Saudi Arabia and Turkey over the last month. The pentagon has also moved rapidly to establish bases in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in territories formerly controlled by the Soviet Union.

United States officials have publicly denied any concrete plansto move specific units or bases from one country to another. But Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz confirmed on Friday that acomplete rethink is underway.

"We are in the process of taking a fundamental look at our military posture worldwide, including in the United States," Wolfowitz told reporters during a visit to Singapore. "We're facing a very different threat than any one we've faced historically."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Germany; Government; Japan; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: militarybases; newnwo; troopmovement; usmilitary
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To: Cacophonous
Why can't we bring them home?

  1. The war isn't over.

  2. The best defense is always a good, PROJECTED offense.

I'd gladly pay the price, and even man the turrets to fight America's wars someplace other than my kids back yard. It's not that I want harm to come to our allies, but I believe in defense in depth. I believe a convincing defense prevents wars, and that wars such as the one we are currently in, are caused by the enemy under-appreciating our capabilities and commitment. If it were not for the weakness of the feckless Clinton Administration, we would not now be at war. The enemy has admitted as much in the documents we've captured.

Bush is realigning our forces to continue pursuit of the enemy in the current war, and to better project defensive power abroad to make the US less vulerable to other "bad guys" of the future.

FReegards, SFS

21 posted on 06/03/2003 1:26:51 PM PDT by Steel and Fire and Stone
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To: Cacophonous
I don't know about Korean support, but this document explains the finacial support Japan provides to U.S. Bases.

Japanese Host Nation Support:A Future Outlook

22 posted on 06/03/2003 6:59:58 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY
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To: Enemy Of The State
... The following strategic objectives of 'perestroika' may be distinguished. ...

For the main US alliances

(a) Splitting the United States, Western Europe and Japan. (b) Dissolution of NATO and the US-Japan security pact, and the withdrawal of US troops from Western Europe and Japan. ...

Source:The Perestroika Deception
Memo to CIA, March 1989
Anatoliy Golitsyn

23 posted on 06/03/2003 7:51:14 PM PDT by Orion78
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To: Steel and Fire and Stone
"The best defense is always a good, PROJECTED offense."

Sometimes the best defense is a good preemptive strike.

yitbos

24 posted on 06/04/2003 12:34:39 AM PDT by bruinbirdman
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