American Worldwide Withdrawal Begins

[PLATO]

Bush to cut forces in Europe, Asia
Says changes will have no effect on troops in Iraq or AfghanistanThe Associated Press
Updated: 5:15 p.m. ET Aug. 14, 2004SIOUX CITY, Iowa - President Bush has decided to bring home tens of thousands of U.S. troops from posts around the world — most of them in Europe and Asia — plus 100,000 of their family members and support personnel, U.S. officials said Saturday.

The changes will have no effect on forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.

Bush will announce the move Monday in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Cincinnati, two senior administration officials said.

As part of the largest troop realignment in years, Bush will shift about 70,000 uniformed military personnel, most of them currently in Europe, the senior officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A significant proportion will come home, though it was not clear when.

The decision is meant to “strengthen our ability to respond to threats overseas,” one official said, declining to elaborate.

“It will improve our capability to protect America and our allies and ease some of the burden on our uniformed military members and their families,” one official said.

The decision is sure to be a politically popular one at a time when Bush has refused to offer a timetable for bringing home the roughly 140,000 U.S. troops from Iraq.

Democrat John Kerry has said he would try to begin withdrawing some troops from Iraq within his first six months in office.

That promise has drawn ridicule from Bush, who has said it would encourage the enemy to hunker down and wait out the United States. But it has also put pressure on the commander in chief at a time when the death toll on U.S. service members is approaching 1,000.

Bush did not mention his decision at a campaign rally in Sioux City, Iowa.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5707856/

Good thing or bad thing? I have mixed feelings...

[chequita guevara]

Basically, they need the troops to rotate in to Iraq.

[KrazyHorse]

Good thing.

[Dis]

now if we could just withdraw from the middle east and the terrrorists would stop attacking us. .

jk of course. But I still support withdrawing from the middle east.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Dissident


jk of course. But I still support withdrawing from the middle east.

I think we all want that. Just some of us realize the neccesity of being there and some don't.

[Dis]

but seriously, we have no reason to stay in Germany. That's a cold war relic. I can see keeping some base there, since we have beent here so long. We still maintain a hospital over there I believe. And command headquarters for hte army I beleive.

I was really surprised the navy hq was in London. I thought it was always in Naples The navy has a base in Naples. It is a given port of call for any Med cruise. Of course Naples sucks big time. But you can take tours to Rome which is pretty cool.

[Lancer]

This is very worrying. I'm concerned that if they bring home the troops from europe they'll move the couch on the third floor of the barracks in Hof that I hid my porno behind.

[Natalinasmpf]

The title is misleading. I thought they had actually seen the light after all, but noo....

[Apocalypse]

Well, all the little league baseball teams in Europe are going to suck now, considering they were usually made up of kids on military bases. Oh well.

[Chemical Ollie]

Yankey go home

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Dissident
but seriously, we have no reason to stay in Germany. That's a cold war relic. I can see keeping some base there, since we have beent here so long. We still maintain a hospital over there I believe. And command headquarters for hte army I beleive.

I was really surprised the navy hq was in London. I thought it was always in Naples The navy has a base in Naples. It is a given port of call for any Med cruise. Of course Naples sucks big time. But you can take tours to Rome which is pretty cool.

I think the Med fleet HQ is in Naples...It must be an overall European command in London.

[DanS]

I think this is all good. 70,000 troops home plus 100,000 family members and support personnel. Nowadays, that's a significant portion of the active armed forces.

Don't know about the Stryker brigades, though.

[Gatekeeper]

A Reuters version of this article said bringing the "heavy troops" home was a big part of the process to get rid of them and put "lighter, faster and more mobile" forces in their place.

I personally think they're bringing the troops home so they're available to enforce martial law once the police state is officially inaugurated.

Gatekeeper

[Joseph]

Originally posted by Dissident


now if we could just withdraw from the middle east and the terrrorists would stop attacking us. .

jk of course. But I still support withdrawing from the middle east.

They would still attack us until we no longer travel aboard or buy oil from any Arab State and all US Forces are in the USA. OBL said this some time ago. No American outside of America. Then he would try to take Country by Country until he had them all. Does that that remind you of someone let's say 1939? OBL wants the world to be Muslim with him the Great Leader.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

good thing.

btw, obl will never take over 'country by country.' one country is the max, but we would never let them take it.

its like those idiotic 'stop the red spread' garbage, which follows that if thirdworld ****holes like Korea, Vietnam, Zaire, and Afghanistan go commie, so will all of western europe.

money talks, and bush is so well connected with saudi's that we would always have an open pipeline of oil.