Bush announces plan to withdraw 60,000-70,000 U.S. troops from Europe and Asia over 10 years

President George W. Bush announces on August 16, 2004, a plan to withdraw 60,000 to 70,000 U.S. troops from Europe and Asia over the next decade, shifting to a more flexible global posture. Germany faces the steepest cuts: U.S. forces there drop from roughly 70,000 toward 40,000 by 2011. Bush calls the move a modernization of Cold War-era basing, arguing lighter and more mobile forces better serve 21st-century threats. Germany and South Korea publicly object, warning the reductions weaken deterrence at a time of rising global instability.