Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- . . [Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] ----- Original Message ----- From: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <mailto:Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mindspring.com> Sent: Friday, August 31, 2001 8:48 PM Subject: ARMY SHIFTING TO SURROUND CHINA Army Shifting Equipment to Asia By Robert Burns AP Military Writer Thursday, Aug. 30, 2001; 5:28 p.m. EDT WASHINGTON -- The Army intends to move some of its weapons and other war-fighting equipment from Europe to Asia, reflecting a shift in strategic focus by the Bush administration, the Army's top official said Thursday. No troops are moving yet, but Army Secretary Thomas White left open the possibility the service might expand or reconfigure its presence in the Asia-Pacific region while maintaining its basic commitments in Europe. "There's been a heightened awareness or concern about the Pacific region," White said in an interview with a group of reporters. "It's been talked about a lot. I think we in the Army will have to look at that very closely, look at our stationing around the Pacific Rim." He was asked whether the Army is considering, for example, basing troops on Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific where the Air Force maintains a staging base for its aircraft operating in the region. "You have to see if there are opportunities for forward basing or engagement" on the Pacific Rim, he replied. "I think all the services are going to do that." The Army has almost 29,000 soldiers based permanently in Japan and South Korea. Its other major overseas presence is in Europe, where about 65,000 soldiers are posted mostly in Germany. If the administration were to decide to put more troops in the Asia-Pacific region as well as weapons and equipment, it inevitably would cause consternation among allies and others, White said. "I suppose any time you make shifts in strategy and deployments, there's a lot of concern by a lot of different people," he said. "Consequently it will take time, if that's what the secretary (of defense) and the president decide to do." He emphasized that no such decisions have been made. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has made clear he believes the U.S. military needs to be oriented more toward potential threats in the Asia-Pacific region, not just the traditional worry about North Korea but also China. Rumsfeld has stressed, also, that putting more focus on Asia should not be interpreted as reduced interest in Europe. When he visited Europe in June, Rumsfeld took pains to emphasize the U.S. commitment to NATO allies. He dismissed speculation that he favors reducing the U.S. troop presence in Europe, saying he didn't want to "cause tremors" unnecessarily by suggesting Europe was less important to the United States. In Thursday's interview, White said the extent to which the Army increases its attention on Asia will depend on the outcome of Rumsfeld's lengthy review of U.S. strategy, which White said is not yet completed. "If the Pacific becomes of greater importance than it typically has in the past, relative to Europe and the other regions of the world, you're going to re-examine the whole business" of troop positioning, he said. "We're doing that." For starters, the Army intends to move war-fighting equipment now stored in Germany and Italy to locations in the Asia-Pacific region, he said. "It's a signal, once again, that we're going to shift our available resources around to fit the strategy," White said. He did not say how many weapons or how much equipment would be moved, but an aide said it would be enough to equip several combat brigades. A typical combat brigade comprises about 5,000 troops. Col. Tom Begines, an Army spokesman, said equipment intended to support an Army battalion (about 1,200 soldiers) would be moved from Europe to South Korea, but he was unsure of other details. Some of the equipment in Europe may be moved to Diego Garcia, where the Army already has weapons and equipment stored aboard ships, one White aide said. That British-owned island in the Indian Ocean now is used primarily as a forward base for Air Force B-52 bombers and support aircraft. White said he was not familiar with other details of the intended move, such as the timing and exact locations. He did not say what kinds of weapons and equipment would be moved, but typically it would include armored vehicles, missile launchers, ammunition, fuel and other support equipment. A trade publication, Inside the Army, reported Aug. 13 that an internal Army document described a plan for redistributing war-fighting stocks from Europe to existing caches in southwest Asia - a region that includes Diego Garcia - and in South Korea. It also said the Army lacked the money to make the moves this year. In the interview Thursday, White also said he thought it unlikely that the Army would be required to cut forces as part of Rumsfeld's efforts to revamp the military and find savings to pay for modernization. "I don't intend to cut force structure," White said, adding that he believed Rumsfeld agreed that the Army was already stretched thin with the existing force of 480,000 active-duty soldiers. --- On the Net: http://www.army.mil © Copyright 2001 The Associated Press Back to the top Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 90083 Gainesville, FL 32607 (352) 337-9274 http://www.space4peace.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: archive@jab.org T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
