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US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Thursday that the United States would reduce its troops and bases in Europe as part of its realignment of American troop deployment around the world.
"It's important to remember that this will result in a net reduction in the number of troops in Europe and the number of bases that we have in Europe," Powell told reporters after meeting with new NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer in Washington.
The global review of the American military presence was not intended to threaten Russia, Powell said, adding that Washington was not looking to move bases closer to its Cold War rival.
"It is a sensible analysis of the situation and we are not looking to move bases per se of the kind they used to have during the Cold War closer to Russia," Powell said.
The secretary of state said the United States was interested in "forward-operating locations" where it could train troops temporarily or permission to use particular airfields for quick deployment of troops to "particular areas of potential crisis."
Most of the reductions will bring American troops back to the United States, said Powell, a former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
In an effort to transform the US troops into a lighter, more lethal and more flexible force, the Pentagon has started a review of its global military deployments. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has said the global positioning of the US troops needs an overhaul to better prepare for the new challenges after the end of the Cold War.
No formal decisions have been made, but it was widely believed the Pentagon plans to withdraw a bulk of troops from Germany in Europe, and Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) in Asia. About 100,000 US troops are stationed in Europe, most of which are in Germany.
Rumsfeld and other Pentagon officials have begun the discussions with Germany, Japan and ROK over the possible redeployment of US troops. Most of the troops withdrawn from those countries might be repositioned to countries in Eastern Europe and Southeastern Asia, US officials said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2004)
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