by Lorne Cook
BERLIN, Aug 17 (AFP) - The German government Tuesday played down the negative effects of a vast US troop redeployment in Europe and Asia as the opposition voiced fears that the United States was distancing itself from NATO.
Berlin's spokesman on transatlantic affairs said it was unfortunate that thousands of US troops would be withdrawn but also "a success, that together we have met the challenge of the Cold War and ended the division in Europe."
The spokesman, Karsten Voigt, told Deutschlandfunk radio that apart from Britain, Germany remained "the closest to Washington of all the European states" and the "biggest military post for the USA in Europe".
US President George W. Bush announced Monday that up to 70,000 troops would eventually leave Europe and Asia in a move aimed at increasing the capability to fight the "war on terror" and meet other new threats.
Bush wants to abandon the large Cold War bases of the past that his administration deems are no longer relevant to its security needs and create smaller, flexible contingents that can be rapidly sent to conflict areas.
But the move to cut its military umbilical cord, particularly in Europe, comes amid recent tensions between Washington and Berlin, and a German government source suggested the news of a major pullout had not been welcome.
"Berlin continues to signal its interest in an American military presence in Germany and has emphasised that it can offer ideal conditions for bases," the source said on condition of anonymity.
Under the Bush plan, two heavy army divisions of about 30,000 troops will withdraw from Germany to be replaced by a Stryker combat brigade of 3,600 personnel, according to senior US defense officials.
The 1st Armored Division and the 1st Infantry Division will return to the United States in 2006 at the earliest, to synchronize with a round of base closures in the United States, the officials said.
A US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said much of the projected reduction in US military forces overseas "will be embedded in the return of the two heavy divisions that are in Germany."
A German opposition spokesman on defence, Christian Schmidt, said the United States was "withdrawing from part of its responsibilities in NATO," and was thereby "endangering security in Europe."
With the German economy barely beginning to recover and unemployment remaining high, others expressed fears closer to home.
"The jobs of almost 700 people here are now at risk," Pia Beckmann, the mayor of Wuerzburg where the 1st Infantry Division is based, told the N-24 television news channel.
A spokesman for the ver.di services union told AFP on Monday that 15,272 Germans work for the US military and that half could lose their jobs under the plans currently being debated, as well as thousands of others whose employment is reliant on the US presence.
Meanwhile, the US military in Germany reiterated that no final decisions on numbers had been taken, nor had a timetable for their withdrawal been finalised.
"It is important to understand that the president's transformation plan will take several years to implement," US European Command said in a statement.
"There is no set timetable, nor will implementation be a 'big bang' event, with changes occurring all at once."
Bush's announcement comes as Germany undertakes a radical overhaul of its own military aimed at creating a streamlined, well-armed force also capable of more rapid deployment abroad.
After the United States, Germany has the largest number of troops mobilised in foreign peacekeeping missions and the US "war on terrorism."