U.S. President George W. Bush has announced plans to bring up to 70,000 American soldiers home from Asia and Europe within a decade.
Making the announcement at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Cincinnati, Ohio Monday, Bush said the troop realignment would make the U.S. military a more agile and more flexible force to address new security threats of the 21st century, including terrorism.
Bush said U.S. service members who return home will enjoy more time on the home front and more predictability and fewer moves over their military career.
Washington has yet to specify the countries from which it will pull out its forces and the exact number of U.S. troops that will be subject to the U.S. Global Positioning System.
U.S. officials refused to discuss plans for troop shifts in Asia, but earlier this year Washington announced plans to cut one-third of its 37,000-strong South Korean garrison.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has forecast that once the troop realignment plan is finalized, the reconfiguration of the U.S. military presence around the world would be carried out over four to six years.
There are currently some 230,000 American soldiers stationed overseas, in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.