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thedrifter
05-30-03, 06:51 AM
May 29, 2003

Report: Okinawa strength could be greatly reduced

Associated Press


LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) — The Defense Department may withdraw roughly 15,000 of the approximately 20,000 Marines stationed in Okinawa as part of a plan to realign its troops in Asia, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
”The Pentagon is planning a broad realignment of troops in Asia that may include moving Marines out of Japan and establishing a network of small bases in countries such as Australia, Singapore and Malaysia where the U.S. has never had a permanent military presence,” the paper said.

It said a plan being considered is to move all but about 5,000 of the Marines in Okinawa, possibly to new bases that will be set up in Australia.

The paper quoted Douglas Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy, as saying, ”There is not going to be a place in the world where it’s going to be the same as it used to be...We’re going to rationalize our posture everywhere -- in Korea, in Japan, everywhere.”

While Feith declined to divulge details, other defense officials have described the moves being considered, the paper said.

According to the paper, the roughly 24,000 U.S. troops based elsewhere in Japan will remain.

”But the Pentagon would increase the military equipment and weaponry stored and maintained at ports in Japan and elsewhere, allowing it to cut back the number of troops based in the region but leaving it able to deploy them rapidly to conflicts in the area,” the paper said.

The daily said the U.S. is eyeing boosting the presence of U.S. troops in Singapore and Malaysia, and seeking to base Navy ships in Vietnam and ground troops in the Philippines.

In February, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said the 37,000 troops stationed in South Korea may be reduced as part of a drastic realignment of the U.S. military.

Australian newspapers reported May 22 that working-level negotiations are continuing between the United States and Australia for setting up a base in Australia for 5,000 Marines.






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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press.


Sempers,

Roger

thedrifter
05-30-03, 07:25 PM
U.S. Marines Not Leaving Okinawa for Australia, Wolfowitz Says
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

SINGAPORE, May 30 , 2003 - The American military is reviewing its troop deployments worldwide, but U.S. Marines aren't being pulled out of Okinawa for redeployment to Australia, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz said here May 30.

Wolfowitz discussed this and other issues with reporters at this island city- nation. The deputy defense secretary is in Singapore to discuss mutual security issues with senior East Asian officials. On May 31, he is slated to address attendees at the second annual Asian Security Conference, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The deputy defense secretary is on the second day of a trip to Singapore, South Korea and Japan. Singapore is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Daylight Time.

America's security commitment to East Asia "is an important part of keeping this a peaceful part of the world," Wolfowitz remarked to reporters, noting he had attended last year's Singapore conference too.

The deputy secretary said he and other senior U.S. officials are attending this year's conference "to understand better" how the United States can continue to contribute toward a peaceful East Asia, "and to convey our views about the major security issues of the day."

Accompanied by U.S. Sens. Chuck Hagel and Jack Reed, U.S. Ambassador to Singapore Frank L. Lavin, and Navy Adm. Thomas Fargo, head of U.S. Pacific Command, Wolfowitz remarked to reporters that the Asian conference is an important conduit for communication between regional leaders and allies.

"We have conferences of this kind on a fairly regular basis in Europe. ... Asia needs more of this kind of consultation and dialogue," the deputy defense secretary pointed out.

United States "is committed," Wolfowitz asserted, to ensure stability in East Asia and recognizes the importance of the region to U.S. and world security.

Hagel, who with Reed, also attended last year's conference, echoed Wolfowitz's comments, noting, "this part of the world remains a critical part" of U.S. interests and "will for a long time in the future."

"Asia is an important area of the world," Reed agreed. "By coming here and listening to our colleagues and our contemporaries, we're learning more, specifically about the issues that are here (and) the issues that affect not just the people in this region, but the whole world."

Wolfowitz also fielded a reporter's question about a recent news story that asserts the United States is moving its Marines out of Japan's Okinawa to Australia.

"There's a lot in that story - including that point - that's simply wrong," Wolfowitz responded. However, he noted, the United States is "in the process of taking a fundamental look at our military posture worldwide - including the United States."

Because of the changed nature of today's threats and the "dramatic" new capabilities of U.S. forces, Wolfowitz pointed out, "it's appropriate to look at how those forces are postured (and) how we can get the most effectiveness out of them" while maintaining their deterrence presence.

Speculation that the U.S. Marines would be moved from Okinawa to Australia "simply has no foundation," Wolfowitz asserted.

Another reporter asked Wolfowitz if the United States is now discounting the importance of finding deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction.

The United States is still looking for Hussein's weapons of mass destruction, Wolfowitz replied. He cited that issue, along with the regime's ties to global terrorism and the abuse the regime inflicted upon the Iraqi people, as among the reasons the U.S. and its coalition partners went to war against Saddam.

And, he added, there was also the danger that Hussein's weapons of mass destruction would find their way into the hands of terrorists.

Saddam's WMD programs "have always been part of the rationale" for deposing his regime, Wolfowitz noted.

And, pointing to the mass graves being uncovered in Iraq, Wolfowitz opined that Hussein's regime "abused Muslims, perhaps worse than any other government in the world."

The United States and its coalition partners are welcoming help "to give the people of Iraq a chance to build a much better ... democratic country," Wolfowitz declared.

Wolfowitz, who is a former U.S. ambassador to Indonesia, later met with Indonesia Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil. The two senior defense officials then fielded reporters' questions.

Indonesia, which has the world's highest Muslim population among its 200 million people, the defense secretary pointed out to reporters, has been undergoing a transition to a democratic government from formerly autocratic rule.

"Just five years ago, Indonesia went through a very violent transition" when the dictatorship collapsed, Wolfowitz said, noting, "we all have a stake" in seeing Indonesia successfully attain a stable, democratic government.

However, pointing to the Oct. 12, 2002, terror attack at Bali, Wolfowitz remarked, "Terrorists do not want to see Indonesia succeed - they would like Indonesia backwards."

Yet, the Bali attack "has awakened the Indonesian people," Wolfowitz asserted, noting, Indonesians now realize that "terrorism is aimed at them, as well as at the United States and the West."

Singapore, a former British crown colony, has been an independent nation since 1965. An island city-state of just over 4 million people, Singapore is located between Malaysia to the north and Indonesia to the south.


Sempers,

Roger