Posted on: Friday, May 2, 2003
Rumsfeld plans huge changes for military
A story in yesterday's Los Angeles Times details a reshuffling of American forces stationed overseas so radical that we're surprised it hasn't first been discussed more thoroughly in Congress and the national media.
The Times forecasts a sweeping movement of tens of thousands of troops from Germany and Turkey, two allies that may be paying a price for failing to enlist in the "coalition of the willing," to big bases in Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. The Army's 1st Armored Division, 17,000 strong, went to Iraq from Germany, but won't return there.
Military sources say the new bases, including ports on the Black Sea and extensive training areas once used by Soviet troops, will enable a more nimble response to troubles in the Middle East and Africa. There's no longer any need to defend Germany, where 80 percent of the 112,000 U.S. troops in Europe are stationed.
Reported elsewhere is the complete removal of U.S. forces from Saudi Arabia, which makes sense even if it appears to respond to Osama bin Laden's most strident demand. Huge new bases are appearing in Qatar.
And the Pacific Command is talking about moving its troops in South Korea away from the DMZ south of Seoul, and possibly reducing the numbers — a move that simply amazes us considering the state of relations with North Korea.
All of these changes seem to reflect a diminished sensitivity about the concerns of host countries and their neighbors, including Russia, Germany, South Korea and Japan.
These basing changes also coincide with what promises to be a radical reshaping of the Army, with the departure of its secretary, Tom White, and the retirement in June of Chief of Staff Gen. Eric Shinseki, who hails from Kaua'i.
These developments take on deeper meaning with President Bush's declaration yesterday on the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln: "Yet all can know, friend and foe alike, that our nation has a mission: We will answer threats to our security, and we will defend peace."
