Drawdown

In an interview with the Armed Forces Press Service, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said two brigade combat teams, or roughly 7,000 US troops, would be withdrawn from Europe, but rotational units would still maintain a strong military presence in the region.

Apparently at pains to insist that the United States' military was not on the wane, Pentagon spokesman George Little said later, "the secretary and other senior department officials have consulted closely with our European allies on our new strategic guidance. Our security commitments to Europe and to NATO are unwavering."

Rotating brigades

Panetta told news agency AP that the US plan was to keep one brigade in Germany and one Italy. This would mean that Germany loses two of its US army brigades, since up until now, three of the four US Army brigades in Europe are stationed in Germany.

As the withdrawal of one of these brigades was already decided on last year, the total withdrawal from Germany will include between 10,000 and 15,000 US troops. There is no official information as yet on which bases will be affected.

According to Panetta, the plan is to rotate brigades within Europe, Africa and South America, so that they will regularly change their positions.

The Washington Post newspaper, citing anonymous sources, reported that the two remaining European brigades would also be continually reinforced by rotating units.

Leaner force

The move is part of a new 10-year defense strategy that President Barack Obama presented on January 5, which shifts the country's strategic priority to the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.

But the new strategy also entails a massive cut in the US defense budget, which will be slashed by $487 billion (382 billion euros) over the next 10 years.

The new, leaner US military is meant to focus on countering China's rising power and signals a shift away from large ground wars against insurgents.

"Our budget is, basically, designed to reinforce the new missions we are talking about and that agile, deployable and ready force that has to move quickly," Panetta said.

"The example I've used is if we are in a land war in Korea and Iran does something in the Strait of Hormuz - to go after that and to deal with that threat is largely going to be the responsibility of the Air Force and Navy," the secretary continued.

Anticipating attacks from his Republican rivals in an election year, Obama said earlier this month that reductions would be limited and would not come at the expense of America's military might.

Washington's focus on Asia is fueled by concerns over China's growing navy and arsenal of anti-ship missiles that could jeopardize America's military dominance in the Pacific.

At the time, Britain cautioned that the US pivot to Asia should not neglect Russia, calling it an unpredictable force on the global stage.

Author: Ben Knight (Reuters, AFP, dapd)
Editor: Rob Mudge