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| Europe |
| Ramstein Air Base move ’won’t happen’ |
| 2003-10-14 |
| Can you feel the ground shifting under your feet? The Germans can... Closing the US air force base at Ramstein in Germany is "inconceivable" and is "not going to happen", the commander of Nato forces said. Marine General James Jones, who also commands US forces in Europe, said the nucleus of irreplaceable forces will remain where they are, including Ramstein Air Base, which lies about 140 kilometres southwest of Frankfurt. "It is inconceivable to me — and anyone else — that you would close Ramstein and move it 500 kilometres to the east and rebuild it," Jones told reporters at the Pentagon. "That’s simply not going to happen." The Pentagon is reviewing the placement of US forces around the world in an effort to determine if they could respond to a crisis more quickly from different locations. The US military has already been expanding into Eastern European nations, and concerns have arisen in Germany that the Americans will shrink their longstanding presence in the country because of the disagreement between Washington and Berlin over the war in Iraq. "The centre of gravity in Europe is still in Western Europe — that’s where the structures are, that’s where the majority of our own US bases are — but the centre of activity is clearly shifting," Jones said. There were also concerns the US Army’s 1st Armored Division would go to the United States rather than return to its base in Wiesbaden when it leaves Iraq, which would hurt the region’s economy. Jones said the military, out of concern for the soldiers’ families, has recommended that all of the divisions in Iraq return to their original base before any decisions are made regarding the US military presence in Germany. The Pentagon has also not reached any final conclusions on what the US military "footprint" abroad will be in the future. "This is still a pre-decisional time that we’re in in terms of what the future European footprint might look like, what the future Pacific footprint might look like," he said. |
| Posted by:Seafarious |
| #11 "inconceivable" - the Princess Bride popped immediately to my head. Hehehehehee. Great movie. |
| Posted by: Jabba the Nutt 2003-10-14 6:31:03 PM |
| #10 Gee...let's see...moving Ramstein from Rheinland-Pfalz to the Czech Republic...hmmmm....the wives would be all for it. Saves them the bus ride to go "crystal shopping." |
| Posted by: TerrorHunter4Ever 2003-10-14 1:35:15 PM |
| #9 I think we'll most likely move into Poland and Iraq. From there we will have a better vantage point of the ME, the current battle-ground. Maybe even move a base into Turkey. I'm sure that would please Murat. |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-10-14 1:22:43 PM |
| #8 The problems from the ME have begun to leech in many directions. Moving forces to the East makes sense to me. I think we will eventually be involved north of Afghanistan as well. We need shorter logistics legs. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2003-10-14 12:56:15 PM |
| #7 Bulgaria, too, Sophia Sideshow is an interesting blog. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-10-14 12:50:31 PM |
| #6 Ptah: I think it will be more like, "if we come, they will build it." |
| Posted by: Mike 2003-10-14 12:44:57 PM |
| #5 It also seemed, at the time, difficult to believe that we would move out of PSAB after dumping so many dollars into that base (and, subsequently into the bank accounts of the Bin Laden family). |
| Posted by: BossMan 2003-10-14 12:34:33 PM |
| #4 "Inconceivable" - "The Princess Bride" pop into anyone else's head???? |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-10-14 12:34:24 PM |
| #3 I sense a man desperate to keep his command in a relatively pleasant environment. Life may not be optimal in, say, Poland or the Czech republic now, but given the dollars and the superior entreprenurial (sp?) spirit there, "if you build it, they will come." |
| Posted by: Ptah 2003-10-14 12:04:01 PM |
| #2 I imagine the 1st Armored will stay in Iraq for the next few decades. Hopefully with short business excursions to the neighboring locales. |
| Posted by: CRS 2003-10-14 11:24:59 AM |
| #1 You might not have to rebuild it, I'm sure the Soviets left some pretty large airbases in Eastern Europe that the US could move into with some minor upgrades. Personally I think Eastern Europe is too far away from the action. I big base in India or Iraq would be better. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-10-14 11:21:35 AM |