Rumsfeld Hints at Fewer Base Closings

[Whoa_Nelly]

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld suggested Tuesday that an upcoming round of military base closures may not be as extensive as previously anticipated, saying the amount of surplus space on bases may be less than previously estimated.


Rumsfeld said he had no specific estimate of how much base capacity is surplus and therefore vulnerable to closure. However, when he pushed Congress hard in 2001 to approve the new round of base closings, he said the military had about 25 percent more base capacity than it needed. On Tuesday, he said the Clinton administration had put it in the 20 percent to 25 percent range.


"It looks now like the actual number will be less than the lower end of that range," he said. "How much less remains to be seen." He also said, "the fact that we're bringing so many forces home from overseas reduces that number."


Some 70,000 U.S. troops and 100,000 dependents are scheduled to come home from permanent bases in Germany and elsewhere during 2006 and after, as the Pentagon adjusts its worldwide presence in the face of the end of the Cold War and the beginning of the war on terrorism.


more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/29/national/w161456S96.DTL

[w4rma]

1. The Clenis strikes again! (nt)

[babylonsister]

2. Odd, that. In his news conference yesterday

he spoke of the lessening numbers needed in Iraq. He's the master of double-speak.