U.S. Could Close All but One German Base

[sfc_darrel]

U.S. Could Close All but One German Base

July 12, 2003 06:41 PM EDT


BERLIN - Every U.S. military base in Germany except one supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq could be closed in a potential reorganization of American forces, the top U.S. commander in Europe said in an interview published Saturday.

The bulk of about 115,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in Europe are in Germany, prompting analysts to forecast that thousands will leave once Pentagon planners decide how to adapt structures left over from the Cold War to new tasks such as fighting terrorism.

In an interview with a German newspaper, U.S. Gen. James Jones, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, said that while "a row of concrete proposals" on reorganizing U.S. forces across Europe already have been made, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has yet to make any decisions.

"Only the Ramstein base is not up for discussion - it's too important," Jones was quoted as saying in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily. "We would like to operate Ramstein for as long as we're welcome in Germany. I don't want to talk about the others.

"Basically, anything is possible."

Ramstein Air Base, home of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and the 86th Airlift Wing, has been a key post for ferrying supplies to U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. It also is used by planes carrying U.S. casualties from those conflicts as it is near Landstuhl military hospital.

The United States already has announced its military withdrawal from Saudi Arabia and is expected to reduce the number of air and ground forces kept on large permanent bases hosted by allies such as Germany and South Korea.

Other American units based in Germany include the Army's V Corps based in Heidelberg, the 1st Armored Division in Wiesbaden and the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base.

Jones also said in the interview he has been ordered to begin planning for possible American military intervention in Liberia, an African nation founded by freed U.S. slaves that is engulfed by civil war.

The United Nations and European leaders have sought U.S. troops to enforce a repeatedly violated June 17 cease-fire between forces loyal to Liberian President Charles Taylor, an indicted war criminal, and rebels surrounding his capital, Monrovia.

Under the deal, Taylor promised to step down, clearing the way for a transitional government that would oversee fresh elections.

Jones also predicted a long engagement in Afghanistan for NATO, which takes command from Germany and the Netherlands of an international peacekeeping force next month.

He suggested the alliance remained open to calls from the United Nations and Afghanistan's shaky interim government to expand the mission beyond the Afghan capital, Kabul.
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