The remnants of Hurricane Charley roll on through... Best wish to those who suffered a little more than some heavy rain.

The United States is going to withdraw over 100,000 troops from Europe and Asia.

President George Bush will announce tomorrow that the US military will pull up to 100,000 troops out of Europe and Asia in the biggest redeployment since the end of the Cold War. The plan will see a number of US bases in Germany closed down, and troops returned home or redeployed to Eastern Europe.

Over two-thirds of the troops, about 70,000, will be pulled from Europe, and Germany is expected to take the brunt of the loss. The military redeployment of American forces in Europe and elsewhere is long overdue and has some serious consequences:

- Frees up manpower to rotate troops into deployments such as Iraq and Afghanistan
- Forces nations to look at their defenses a bit more seriously.
- Allows better use of forces to address the real threats of the 21st Century.
- Impacts the local economies of the former host nations.

America was deployed in Europe and Asia to fight the last war, the Cold War. As the threat of Communist expansion was defeated in Europe and halted in Asia, the American military in these nations was mission-less; defending against phantom enemies that no longer exist (with the exception of North Korea and China). The American military was practically held hostage in their host nations while the real fighting occurred elsewhere. Freeing the military from the bonds of Old Europe sends a powerful message: pay for your own defense, we have a civilization to defend and wars to fight; without your cooperation you will not receive our protection or our benefits.

The impact on local economies may actually be as damaging as the loss of military protection. I will speak from personal experience here as opposed to quoting facts. I served in the United States Army in Europe from 1992 to 1994, and during this time the Army went through its Reduction in Force (RIF). RIF cut the military from its Cold War high to about its present strength, and forced many experienced military personnel into early retirement. The Frankfurt region, where I was stationed, experienced many base closings and the departure of thousands of American soldiers. The local economies were directly impacted; jobs and businesses that existed solely to serve Americans and their families were lost overnight. As a single soldier at the time, I spent almost of my money on the local economy; we took weekend tours in the wine regions and toured every castle within driving distance. Extended leaves consisted of traveling Europe. I came home with barely a couple of hundred dollars, and I was not alone; most of my friends spent their money in Europe like drunken sailors (even soldiers can't outdo them). When was the next chance you would get to go to Europe, after all? Soldiers with families spent even more, some lived outside government housing and also used their time to take advantage of being in Europe to tour the countryside. Instead of American money being funneled into foreign economies, it will now go to local American communities and Eastern European nations that will host the soldiers.

America's withdraw from Old Europe and elsewhere will have economic, political and military consequences on the host nations they are leaving. Expect much griping in the near future from our "friends" as they scramble to keep every base open possible and every airman, soldier, sailor, Marine, and their families as well in town.

Update:

See what a German blogger has to say about this.