Quote:
Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I would wager a lot of Germans -- even Germans who opposed the war in Iraq -- are grateful that we defended their country for so many years and would like us to stay for reasons to go beyond the local economy.
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Sure they are grateful. However, there's no need for us to maintain such a sizeable force there now. Who are we protecting them from, France?
The local economy is a big factor, as is their historical post-WWII reluctance to over-militarize (which frankly they use as a crutch sometimes to have us do their defense for them). Sure we need to maintain a presence there as the German bases make for a good jumpoff/refueling point to project power quickly overseas in that part of the world. There's no reason to keep so many troops and their families there when there's no reason to protect Germany proper anymore, however.
I should know, I have firsthand experience being in one of those families over there.
