US may Redeploy Troops in Europe in 2005

The United States could start redeploying troops from Germany to southeastern Europe this year, as part of a global US post-Cold War military restructuring, the top US commander in Europe said Friday. US General James Jones, who visited Romania and Bulgaria this week to see military bases earmarked for future use, also stressed that Russia has nothing to fear from the strategic redeployment of troops from western Europe. US President George W. Bush announced last August that the US will withdraw up to 70,000 troops from Europe and Asia over the next decade, to boost its ability to fight the "war on terror" and meet other new threats. In Europe this particularly effects Germany, where tens of thousands of US troops have been based for decades, as a key force protecting Europe during the Cold War. Washington is looking to transfer the forces notably at seven to 10 bases in Romania and Bulgaria, which were among seven ex-communist countries which joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) last year. "There's no reason why we couldn't start with deployments this year from our bases in Germany to basically illustrate the ... concept," said Jones, who is also NATO's top military commander. (AFP)