Pentagon Ponders Overseas Military Shift

Fox News ^ | Friday, May 16, 2003 | Liza Porteus

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

WASHINGTON

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

...the United States may pull military bases out of old North Atlantic Treaty Organization (search) countries such as Germany...

I hope this happens. Germany is trying to play nice right now. They actively screwed us just like France and should pay the price.

Colon Bowel was on TV this morning making nice with the German govt. Funny, I don't think a whole lot of Americans are buying this. Colon Bowel should not be allowed to negotiate away German accountability.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Ping!!

[caltrop]

There's a good case for keeping Air Force and Naval installations overseas. Permanent stationing of GIs (and their dependents) overseas, on the other hand, is generally a lousy idea. The Cold War has been over for almost 15 years, it's time our troops came home from Germany.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The way NK and China are working to get us out of Asia, perhaps we should revisit our slow exit from Japan.

[caltrop]

I don't think we've got much of an Army presence in the Far East except in Korea. I certainly favor keeping the Air Force and Navy presence we have in the Far East. My guess is the Marines, as part of the Navy, would probably remain forward deployed with the Navy. My objection is to stationing Army forces overseas for extended periods. I want our Army almost entirely here in the US unless we need to deploy them to fight. Having them overseas makes it entirely too easy to insert them into conflicts we don't understand and don't have a stake in.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

There were Army, Navy and AF bases all over the Japanese islands in the 1950s and 1960s. The wind-down started in about 69 or so. I grew up there as an Army brat.

[RightWhale]

"The ultimate test is, how capable, how lethal, how effective is what you have?

Grammar can be a lethal tool in the right hands.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Agreed. I have no problem with having troops overseas, but they should be pulled out of Germany and deployed elsewhere or brought home.

[eBelasco]

more friendly

should read more financially desparate for our support. "Nations" like France and Germany have more mature democratic governments than Bulgaria etc, and therefore are more likely to develop policies independent of, and now even in opposition to, ours. We should not support them by basing our soldiers there. We can pay the former Communist satellite states much less than the extortionist Germans.

[Provost-Marshal]

We need to maintain a presence in western Europe, to make sure the Euroweenies don't get any ideas about developing their own military to counterbalance ours. The truth of the matter is, we can't expect anything but increased hostility from Old Europe, and so we should take measures to contain it.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

No doubt. The Balkan states know what it is like to live in poverty and oppression, so they're more than happy to have Americans spending money there. Having an American military base in town helps their economy. The Germans and French view us as a nuisance. In this case, I have no problem giving them what they wish for.

[eBelasco]

Furthermore, we get a huge discount in contracting out to the locals. No way do Bulgarians and Romanians command the same kind of salaries as local German workers. They also most likely have far less restrictive envirmonmental and noise laws.

[caltrop]

I have to disagree. I want the Europeans to spend more on defense and expand their armed forces. That way they can: 1) assist us should a major conflict develop and 2) handle matters like Kosovo without us.

Those who want the Europeans to be completely dependent on the US for defense should explain why we should have to pay for the military defense the Europeans won't pay for themselves and why we in the US should handicap our defense with permanent stations in places where they can't do us any real good.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

As opposed to Japan which pays for the military coverage we provide.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Big time. We could pay the locals our minimum wage and they'd be making way more than average there. They'd be saying 'Send over any military you want here.'

[caltrop]

While I recognize the implications of a rearmed Japan in Asia, I don't believe it's in the US's interest to permanently occupy any foreign country with ground troops. Our air and naval forces in Japan (and elsewhere) should be deployed where it serves our interests to have them.

Incidentally, I presume you'r being facetious since I've never heard that Japan bears any of the cost of our forces in Japan. I'd love to think they actually do pay the bills and, if so, please post something saying so.

[arthurus]

Having them overseas makes it entirely too easy to insert them into conflicts

That is rapidly becoming irrelevant. In a few more years we may have no need of troops anywhere outside of CONUS. Once we get the generation after next of smart bombs and missiles in orbit, we will need people on the ground only to keep order as now in Iraq.

[arthurus]

Actually it is not a good idea to spur Europe to the creation of a real military capability. Europe will be an enemy in time.

Democracies don't fight each other but Europe is rapidly going into a post-democratic phase. When the Euros understand that economic stagnation is their permanent lot due to the socialism that they will not throw off, they will know that economic enhancement must come from military expansion, the historical method of tyrannies. Right now it seems absurd to think of Europe getting strong enough to challenge America but we will inevitibly have another Democrat adminiatration and who knows what will be left of the military after 4 or 8 years of that.

[caltrop]

Sure. Technology is always promising to replace the rifleman.

[caltrop]

Sorry, I just can't agree. Europe is no threat to the US and it'll take them forever and huge expenditures to become a threat. It's time our troops came home, I have no desire to support an empire - even an American empire.