BRUSSELS, Aug 18 (AFP) - The United States vowed Wednesday to continue consultations with its European allies over plans announced this week for its biggest troops pullout since the end of the Cold War, a NATO source said.
The US representative to NATO outlined the plans, announced by President George W. Bush on Monday, at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council (NAC), the top decision-making body of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, he said.
No further details were given on the US pullout, which will affect up to 70,000 troops in Europe and Asia.
But "everybody was reassured by the statement that the allies concerned would be consulted," said the official, requesting anonymity, adding: "There are still many details to be worked out."
European heavyweight Germany will bear the brunt of the biggest US reorganisation in 50 years, with about 30,000 troops due to go home by the end of the decade, while Britain and Italy are also likely to be affected.
According to diplomats, the German ambassador was the only one to respond to his US counterpart's statement, saying that while Germany "understands what the US is going it regrets it in a way, because it is the end of a chapter."
The NATO official reiterated that the US decision has been widely expected, and US officials have been consulting and briefing allies on their plans for some time.
"It didn't come as a surprise. ... It had been on the cards for quite a long time," he said, while adding: "We will have to see what kinds of units they plan to withdraw."