News Release

August 16, 2004

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Troop withdrawal from Europe and East Asia long overdue
United States should end 'international military subsidies'

WASHINGTON--President Bush today announced a plan to withdraw more than 70,000 troops currently stationed in Europe and East Asia as part of a major troop realignment. Cato Institute Vice President for Defense and Foreign Policy Studies Ted Galen Carpenter, made the following comments:

"President Bush deserves the gratitude of the American people for deciding to withdraw 70,000 U.S. troops from Europe and East Asia. It is especially gratifying that many of these troops will be coming home rather than being redeployed overseas. But this withdrawal should be just the first step in a comprehensive disengagement program.

"This is a step that should have been taken years ago. Indeed, Cato Institute scholars have recommended a complete withdrawal of American forces from those two regions since the end of the Cold War. It is absurd that the United States has continued to station 100,000 troops in Europe. Since the demise of the Soviet Union, there is no serious security threat on the Continent. The European Union has both a larger population and a larger economy than that of the United States and should certainly be able to take care of the minor security problems that might arise in the region.

"The case for keeping troops in East Asia is nearly as weak. For example, South Korea has twice the population of communist North Korea and an economy 37 times larger. It does not need to remain dependent on the United States for its defense.

"President Bush's decision to withdraw a significant portion of America's military presence in Europe and East Asia is an essential first step in ending the international military subsidies these governments have enjoyed for more than half a century."

Carpenter, Christopher Preble, director of foreign policy studies, Charles V. Peņa, director of defense policy studies and Senior Fellow Doug Bandow are available for comment.

Bring the Troops Home: Ending the Obsolete Korean Commitment, by Doug Bandow