It's about friggin time........................

...........US to Relocate Troops: Pentagon details troop realignment plan-

Bush on Monday announced plans to shift as many as 70,000 U.S. troops who are now stationed in Western Europe and Asia in one of the largest realignments since the end of the Cold War.

And instead of "hey, thanks for protecting us from the threat of encroaching Communism and liberating half of Europe" we get the Germans whining about it.

Germans Wary of U.S. Troop Withdrawal

By TONY CZUCZKA, Associated Press Writer

BERLIN - German officials voiced concern Monday that their country has the most to lose with President Bush (news - web sites)'s announcement that tens of thousands of troops will return to the United States over the next decade.

With some 70,000 U.S. soldiers based in Germany, thousands of local jobs — from bakers to maintenance workers and office personnel — depend on the Americans, who first came as occupying forces after World War II.


European and Asian countries with U.S. troops have braced for the changes for several years, but Bush's announcement Monday that up to 70,000 uniformed personnel and 100,000 dependents will gradually be moved back to the United States brought home the full impact.

"Base closures would hit us very hard," said city spokesman Ole Kruse in the Bavarian city of Wuerzburg, home of the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division.

But for places like Baumholder, a town in rural western Germany with a U.S. military training area, that spells problems.

Some 11,500 residents are matched by a U.S. military community of the same size, and the local economy would lose $150 million a year if the Americans left, Mayor Volkmar Pees told The Associated Press.

"The Americans are part of us," Baumholder resident Iris Schoen said. "You build up great friendships."

Hey Iris, friends don't bail when they are needed for support. When we were trying to convince the UN that Saddam needed to go, you and France stood in the way. You guys seem to have a funny way of showing your friendship. One might say with friends like these, who needs enemies.

For the last few years, many people have been saying this needed to be done. We didn't protect South Korea or Germany out of the kindness of our hearts, we did it to protect us. They were beneficiaries. Well, the Cold War is over, and we don't need to be there anymore. So we should leave. And if it hurts Germany's precious economy, tough shiite Wolfgang. Now you get to fund a real military instead of the joke that you currently have. Let's see how bad your economy tanks when you have to spend a serious percentage of your GDP on defense for a change. People whine about the US being a warmongering nation, but as soon as we decide to pull out the tune changes.

I wouldn't want to be in South Korea if Kim Jong starts losing it.Because we won't be there either. South Korea did help us out in Iraq, so I have much more sympathy for them, but there isn't really much we could do besides get in the way if North Korea decides to attack. North Korea has miles worth of artillery aimed at Seoul at the DMZ, and if they decided they wanted to take South Korea, Seoul would be turned in to a parking lot in about a half an hour. North Korea needs to be dealt with, but it is a very delicate situation, and there aren't any easy answers. One thing is for sure though, the 30,000 odd troops in South Korea aren't doing much good where they are, and they are needed elsewhere. I imagine the only way to solve the problem of the lunatic in Pyongyang is to isolate him and get the other neighboring countries involved, which is what the current administration seems to be doing.