Article

2003-04-16 Europe

U.S. Soldiers Will Leave For Germany From Incirlik

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Posted by Steve 2003-04-16 08:05 am|| || Front Page|| [11130 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Welcome home

Posted by True German Ally 2003-04-16 08:09:50|| 2003-04-16 08:09:50|| Front Page Top

#2 Sorry TGA, as much as I like your stands and commentary, that is not their home, and in short order, may not even be their basing. The U.S. is starting to reassess where we're wanted/needed, and Germany seems to be neither, other than for their economic offerings...

Posted by Frank G 2003-04-16 09:00:09|| 2003-04-16 09:00:09|| Front Page Top

#3 If you leave, you leave, not because of Schroeder but because you have changed strategies. Whether 60000 troops are still needed in Germany (that very soon will only have EU members and Switzerland as neighbors) is one thing. You are here because you got the best infrastructure here, not for our sake anymore. The Cold War is over.
All I can say is that most GI's still feel very much at home in Germany. A second home of course. Except for the extreme left nobody in Germany has ever said the troops should leave. People don't agree with the Iraq war but that doesn't change their attitude about Americans. At least not much.
Ask any serviceman coming home from Germany. Most will agree with me.
I can't assess whether you will be better off in Poland or Bulgaria. It's your choice. No hard feelings. Of course Germans will miss the dollars, too. But these dollars make less of an impact than is often estimated in the U.S.

Posted by True German Ally 2003-04-16 09:24:36|| 2003-04-16 09:24:36|| Front Page Top

#4 I can agree with that

Posted by Frank G 2003-04-16 09:46:39|| 2003-04-16 09:46:39|| Front Page Top

#5 Don't forget to count the multiplier. A dollar spent in some communities has a ripple effect larger than the dollar itself. In vidalia, Georgia, the multiplier is about 4.5.

Posted by Ptah 2003-04-16 09:51:39|| [cwc.c6d7.com] 2003-04-16 09:51:39|| Front Page Top

#6 If the U.S. leaves, look for Germany to start building up its military. Maybe even they can get rid of that stupid thing that German soldiers can't take part in military conflicts around the world. The past is the past. Germans are stuck too much feeling guilty and sorry for their past and that is why we are seeing this anti-war crap right now. A strong proud Germany will be an even more valuable ally... against the Jihadi terrorist OBL types.

Posted by RW 2003-04-16 12:51:00|| 2003-04-16 12:51:00|| Front Page Top

#7 Will an American withdrawal lead to a German buildup? Given its historical baggage, if Germany starts building up its military, its neighbors will take notice and start increasing their defense expenditures, as well. Normally, an arms race would be viewed as a bad thing. However, given how weak European militaries are, it's not clear that competitive military spending increases would constitute a real problem. It might even be a good thing, since European countries will have to cut the social spending that acts as a significant drag on economic growth by subsidizing laziness (not to mention Muslim fanatics with large families).

Posted by Zhang Fei 2003-04-16 13:07:38|| 2003-04-16 13:07:38|| Front Page Top

#8 I hear Eastern Europe is lovely this time of year.

Posted by (lowercase) matt 2003-04-16 14:07:00|| 2003-04-16 14:07:00|| Front Page Top

#9 Have to go with TGA on this one - our infrastructure in Germany to support our troops, plus the support we get from the German population, is the result of 50 years or more of partnerships. The Germans in Wurttemburg, Rheinland-Pfalz, Bavaria, Baden, or Hesse aren't the problem. The problems come from the Germans in the north, where there are very few US troops, and therefore less contact, and from the east, which was part of the Warsaw Pact until 1990. Unfortunately, "upper Germany" - the high land to the south, is far less populated than the flat areas of the north, and the government reflects that fact. All things considered, I can see the United States remaining militarily in Germany, while looking to the East to find additional locations for military deployments that won't be as limited by local politics as the bases in Germany are.

Posted by Old Patriot 2003-04-16 15:15:05|| 2003-04-16 15:15:05|| Front Page Top

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