US to cut 7,000 Europe-based troops
January 13th, 2012 - 3:29 pm ICT by IANS
Washington, Jan 13 (IANS/RIA Novosti) The US will withdraw 7,000 troops from its 81,000-strong Europe-based forces, Pentagon spokesperson George Little said Friday.
Washington will withdraw two of four brigade combat teams stationed in Europe, Little said.
The announcement comes a day after US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that the Pentagon would reduce forces in Europe as part of its new defense strategy, which seeks to cut US defense spending by $487 billion over the next ten years.
Panetta said the US military presence in Europe would be maintained by units on a rotating basis.
US President Barack Obama unveiled a 10-year defense strategy Jan 5, focusing more on the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.
US military strategists have voiced concerns about China and Iran’s rapidly growing air and naval power, and sought to move away from large Cold War era ground forces.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
rd
- US to redeploy naval fleet in Asia-Pacific region - Jun 02, 2012
- US announces defence budget slash - Jan 27, 2012
- US mulls steep nuclear arsenal cuts - Feb 15, 2012
- Obama nominates spy chief Panetta for US secretary of defence - Apr 29, 2011
- Pentagon braces for budget cuts - Feb 11, 2012
- US sends armymen to Libya to reopen embassy - Sep 21, 2011
- US Senate confirms Panetta as defense secretary - Jun 22, 2011
- US Defence Secretary to visit India in June - May 23, 2012
- Pentagon chief in Kyrgyzstan for talks - Mar 13, 2012
- US to cut armed forces: Obama - Jan 06, 2012
- Pentagon condemns US soldiers posing with Afghan corpses - Apr 18, 2012
- US officials redraw Iraqi troops training plan - Oct 09, 2011
- Russia seeks US explanation over post-2014 Afghan presence - Apr 26, 2012
- Obama sees no basis for Iranian attack on US - Feb 06, 2012
- US military investigates abuse video - Jan 14, 2012
Tags: asia pacific, barack obama, brigade combat, china, cold war, defense secretary, defense spending, defense strategy, europe, iran, leon panetta, middle east regions, military presence, military strategists, pentagon, pentagon spokesperson, ria novosti