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| Bush 'to move 100,000 troops' |
| 2004-08-14 |
| THE United States is expected to announce today that it is pulling 100,000 troops out of Europe and Asia, according to a British newspaper report. The Financial Times said the withdrawals - the largest restructuring of Washington's military presence abroad since World War II - would be announced in a speech by US President George W. Bush. Citing "people briefed on the plan" in a front-page story datelined London, the newspaper said two-thirds of the reductions would be in Europe, with 70,000 troops - mostly from Germany - being sent back to stateside bases. "In Asia, the drawdown is expected to include the 3500 soldier brigade from South Korea, recently deployed in Iraq, but will also include scaling down presences in several other countries in the region," it said. Germany would still host the largest contingent of US troops in Europe, but the pullouts could nevertheless see the departure of the 1st Armoured Division and the 1st Infantry Division, the Financial Times said. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #26 Carl, As far as I am concerned both Spain and the Philippines may have to be left to their own resources so that valuable personnel may be sent to fronts where victory is more likely. (He who defends everything defends nothing) If they become part of the Caliphate, it will only be temporary, and the lesson will be valuable for every other nation considering cooperation with these thugs. (C'est l'guerre) |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-08-14 4:36:28 PM |
| #25 The PRC has more faith in Japan than does the US. In the sense that it knows what bad things might occur if there are miscalculations. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-08-14 3:25:09 PM |
| #24 The Asian reduction is most likely Okinawa.The Japan-based troops that might come home would be Marines.Of course,the US could try to get them based in Australia(talk about tough duty).Unlikely tho. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-08-14 3:04:03 PM |
| #23 The Asian reduction is most likely Okinawa.The Japan-based troops that might come home would be Marines.Of course,the US could try to get them based in Australia(talk about tough duty).Unlikely tho. |
| Posted by: Stephen 2004-08-14 3:03:41 PM |
| #22 I say remove all advisors and aid from the Philipines. If the Christian Filipinos are not man enough to defeat the Muslims, then let them lose Mindinao or all of the Philipines. If they can't stand up for themselves, then let them live on their bellies or watch as their families gets beheaded. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-08-14 10:59:09 AM |
| #21 Mrs. Davis: Spain, sure, but don't forget in the Philippines we need to have some presence there ("advisors" , at the very least), to put some steel in the Flips anti-insurgent efforts. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H. 2004-08-14 10:44:55 AM |
| #20 A big however; if we do not remove every troop from the Philippines and Spain, we are nuts. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-08-14 10:15:42 AM |
| #19 Bravo to this administration for making this happen. It was a good decision though no doubt painful for all involved. Grow up Europe. Go get a job. |
| Posted by: B 2004-08-14 9:55:06 AM |
| #18 Bwaahaahaa. Screw you Europeeeons! You deserve to be left to your own devices. May you smell like the sh!t you throw at your "friends". I am glad to see that we are washing our hands of these traitors. I only wish that they would learn to wash as well. Oh well. I'm sure that the muslims will teach them about that and a whole host of other life lessons on sharia. Enjoy. |
| Posted by: Victory Now Please 2004-08-14 9:47:29 AM |
| #17 granted, but I would speculate that with GPS/JDAM kits, the effectiveness of every mission would make some economic sense? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-14 9:19:16 AM |
| #16 Frank G., ask anybody who flew ARCLIGHT or BULLETSHOT missions out of Anderson AFB, Guam is a long ways from anywhere. Whether it's a B1, B2, or B-52, you're still going to have to hit a tanker at least once and probably twice to drop your load and get back. The iron bombs start to get pretty expensive when delivered that way. |
| Posted by: RWV 2004-08-14 9:02:26 AM |
| #15 Is there really a need for other than Navy ports and AF basing in Japan? Didn't I read last year that our bases in Guam, et al were being upgraded and runways extended to handle the bigger bombers? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-08-14 8:41:06 AM |
| #14 Time to dust off the Schileiffen Plan and Case Yellow. |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-08-14 8:35:37 AM |
| #13 Zhang, Japan too. Not completely, but only the Navy will be left there. Remember Powell said Japan had to modify its constitution to allow use of force in order to get a seat on the Security Council. This will just be more pressure. |
| Posted by: Mrs. Davis 2004-08-14 7:00:24 AM |
| #12 Put them on the border with Mexico. |
| Posted by: Flamebait93268 2004-08-14 5:13:58 AM |
| #11 Someone here had the right idea a few months ago when the rumblings about this picked up: bring most of the troops in Europe home, move the rest east to Poland, turn around, point the guns west, and dig in. |
| Posted by: AzCat 2004-08-14 3:17:36 AM |
| #10 Perfect. Now when Kerry starts jerking off about 'bringing the troops home' Bush can point to this initiative. If the Frogs and the Krauts want to obstruct our war of terrorism, they can damn well find a way to fund their own defense. The only bad part of this is in about five years when the Kraut and/or Frog left elect their first Islamic government, but I guess we can deal with that when we deal with that. |
| Posted by: badanov 2004-08-14 1:22:29 AM |
| #9 It's about time. Let France and Germany and South Korea defend themselves if they are so damn special. It will keep them from stabbing us in the back anymore. Now if we can kick the U.N. out..... |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-08-14 1:16:20 AM |
| #8 #6 HUH?!! |
| Posted by: Halfass Pete 2004-08-14 1:14:04 AM |
| #7 Better late than never. There is little danger that Slavic hegemonists will launch a blitzkrieg against Germany and France, and why should we care if they do? |
| Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy 2004-08-14 1:04:08 AM |
| #6 Wow, only on RB! Therefore no opinion bump Zhang, bummer. But well over due. If the Hun makes a mad dash to the coast, well, mofk!. If Jerry gets a hair up his but, well, mofk. If Boris gets a hanker for ground beef, CAG-It. If Poland decides, hey it's our time, just do it. If Geece says, the Olympics belong to us and you all must pay, then lets pay and pay and pay. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-08-14 12:59:11 AM |
| #5 SW: As for Asia, the broad hint here is Japan, isn't it? Where besides Korea and Iraq do we have significant forces in Asia but Japan? I can't see Uncle Sam pulling back from Japan. Korea, maybe - given the fraught nature of relations with that country. Japan, no. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-14 12:56:45 AM |
| #4 BS: Expect screams of pain as wallets empty and economies go downhill as they lose our money and have to start paying for their own defense. Nah. Think of what happened to the Eastern Roman Empire. Al Qaeda has spoken of America as the descendants of the Byzantines - rotting from within, and ripe for Muslim conquest. But the true sons of the Byzantines are the Europeans. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-14 12:54:26 AM |
| #3 This won't affect Europe all that much outside of the actual base towns. Europe's economy is big enough to absorb the hit. As for Asia, the broad hint here is Japan, isn't it? Where besides Korea and Iraq do we have significant forces in Asia but Japan? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-08-14 12:54:00 AM |
| #2 Expect screams of pain as wallets empty and economies go downhill as they lose our money and have to start paying for their own defense. And seething. Maybe they can get seething lessons from the Arabs - particularly the Paleos they seem to like so well. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2004-08-14 12:50:11 AM |
| #1 I suspect this is going to really boost GWB in the opinion polls. Americans are sick and tired of taking abuse from so-called allies who stick it to us every chance they get. I look forward to a complete withdrawal from South Korea. To paraphrase Dick Cheney, they can go #$!$% themselves. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-08-14 12:45:20 AM |