Bush announces plan for troop realignment

More than 200,000 US troops are now stationed overseas, most of them in Europe.

Pentagon officials said the realignment also would close scores of US installations in Europe to consolidate forces at larger bases there. At the same time, the United States would make greater use of training and logistics bases on the soil of new allies like Uzbekistan, Poland and Romania, said three top Pentagon officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.

The moves are meant to provide greater flexibility and quicker reaction to deal with the smaller engagements that Pentagon planners foresee during the war on terrorism and beyond. And they will move some troops closer to the Middle East and Central Asia.

On a visit to Washington last month, Romanian prime minister Adrian Nastase said he had offered Bush "a five-star location for military bases." Romania, which joined Nato this year, has airstrips and naval bases on the Black Sea, such as one at Constanta, Romania, within striking distance of Iraq and Central Asia.

US Democrats Monday blasted President George W. Bush's plan to bring home up to 70,000 troops from Europe and Asia, calling it dangerous, ill-conceived and a ploy to boost his bid for re-election.

Bush's announcement quickly drew scathing criticism from former Nato commander Wesley Clark and ex-ambassador Richard Holbrooke, two senior advisers of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Clark said the 10-year plan, unveiled by the Republican Bush in a campaign speech to US veterans in Ohio, would "significantly undermine US national security."

"As we face a global war on terror with al-Qaeda active in more than 60 countries, now is not the time to pull back our forces, and I question why President Bush would want to do this now," Clark said in a statement.