Call your Congressman, Pull our troops out of any UN Mission, Bosnia, Germany

vanity | September 9, 2003 | the eagle has landed

[TheEaglehasLanded]

It is time to tell the UN off, we will not send troops. Anyone who opposes us and troops aren't needed in their country will be pulled out.

[Blood of Tyrants]

Don't worry. x42 has told us that they will be home by Christmas.

[Herodotus]

Um, to where? I thought Bosnia/Kosovo was a NATO action. Iraq and Afghanistan are our show, not the UN's. Liberia sure isn't a UN show.

I'm thinking, perhaps you mean the Sinai Pensinula? That takes up a battalion of guys, and is keeping the Israelis from the Egyptians. How about South Korea? Okay, that is a UN show, but we're in charge of it.

[caisson71]

If Liberia isn't UN, what is it?

[joesnuffy]

Yeah....what year was that anyway?

[Tacis]

The President lied to us and no one is shouting about it. He promised to have the troops he unilaterally sent to Bosnia home by Christmas of 1995 and they are still there. Where is the outrage?

[StriperSniper]

Today in the Senate Armed Services Committee Wolfowitz mentioned that by pulling our troops out of Bosnia, Sinai, and Okinowa(sp?), we could field another division. I didn't hear any response to that idea by any Senator while I was watching. When push comes to shove, it looks like the DOD is ready to push back hard. ;-)

[caltrop]

I doubt it. Our NATO allies have forces in Afghanistan which, if we pulled out of Bosnia, might cause them to shift their forces from Afghanistan to Bosnia. No, Bush blew it. He had the chance to bring our troops home from Bosnia when he took office. He didn't.

[NavyCaptain]

But that was President Clinton! He lied to us all the time!

[Herodotus]

Does anyone here actually know how many forces the U.S. has in Bosnia and Kosovo, and how small of a participating force this now is compared to every year since the first interventions? We're down to brigade-level involvement, if not smaller, rather than full divisional involvement as before. We are getting out. It's just no happening in an instant, or there'd be no incentive for the locals to continuing cooperating.

[Herodotus]

I think it just is! Seriously, I don't believe that it's being carried out under any UN auspicies, but rather as an auxilliary to the diplomatic settlement that led to the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) sending in its forces. And I seem to recall that the Marines are now just sitting off the coast cleaning their weapons while some of those who actually landed have been flown back to the US with complaints of malaria.

[StriperSniper]

Our NATO allies have forces in Afghanistan which, if we pulled out of Bosnia, might cause them to shift their forces from Afghanistan to Bosnia.

Good point. But it did shut up 'The Swimmer', who Wolfowitz was responding to. At least it confirms that the DOD is reevaluating commitments globally. I'm sure there are some realignments to be made, but as your example shows, it will be complicated.

[Herodotus]

Monitor Stars and Stripes for a bit more on this. There's a lot of movement to reduce the overseas manpower requirements. Because it's ongoing, like the closure of bases in Germany (already begun!) and the pull-back from the DMZ in Korea, it's not happening rapidly. That's why this rant about pulling everyone out now is so silly...they _are_ being redeployed.

[Herodotus]

Here's a Stars and Stripes series of articles which you will find particularly informative:

http://www.stripes.com/03/jun03/transform.html

[StriperSniper]

Good to hear.

[caltrop]

I'm not sure, but I think we're down to something like 3,000 troops (total) in Bosnia and Kosovo.

[Herodotus]

It's a really complicated topic, and it's been hard to follow since it moves so slowly.

[ravingnutter]

Already being done...

May 09, 2003 - In the wake of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is pushing for the biggest realignment of U.S. forces overseas since World War II. At the secretary's urging, the Pentagon is accelerating plans to move tens of thousands of troops out of Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

U.S. Forces on the Move Rumsfeld Pushes for Major Realignment of Overseas Bases

[Prodigal Son]

The President lied to us and no one is shouting about it.

Easy, or people will have you banished to southern France with Johnny Depp. (he said Bush lied as well)