In a surprise move today, the United States announced that they will be lowering the amount of troops stationed in Western and Central Europe. The plan has been much anticipated since the cold war ended in the early 90s.

The plan states 70,000 troops would be moved from Europe to home soil over the next decade. The pentagon issued a statement in the announcement that the earliest time that the move would take place would be sometime in 2006.

The troops would be replaced with lighter armoured units currently in use. The move will replace the Abraham M1A1 tanks currently stationed in American military bases in Germany with new Stryker vehicles.

Over the next few years, the US military will be closing upto half of it's bases in Europe as part of a restructing plan, mainly because the US military is spread thin across the globe. It has been required to increase it's presence in Iraq, with the probability that their commitment there will be years if not decades.

The Bush staff stated the decision was needed to increase flexibility from the days of the Cold War to the current threat of terrorism and the war against it.

The idea could have been required for the Bush administrations growing urge to occupy third world, oil-rich countries. Terrorism is not a static target, so flexibility may be required. The war on terrorism is under increased criticism as the manpower and political focus has been more aimed at toppling Saddam Hussein, fighting Iraqi militants and guarding oil refineries.

The restructuring could also be a move in stepping up the ability to strike other “Axis of Evil” nations such as Iran, Syria or North Korea.

Critics also say the major realignment of forces would result in major changes to the current and long-time arrangements with allies Germany, South Korea and Japan. The three nations would be most affected by the changes.