freeandfun1
VIP Member
- Feb 14, 2004
- 6,201
- 296
- 83
LINK
Given U.S. military planners' growing desperation to fill slots in Iraq, it is possible that Washington does not know where this unit -- and its assets -- will finally call home. What is clear is that there will be no shortage of interested hosts.
The odds-on choice would be Australia. Canberra already has expressed an interest in a semipermanent U.S. military presence and has invested large sums of money to purchase U.S. military equipment -- similar to the equipment used by the 2nd Infantry Division.
Although various factors suggest Australia as the potential future home for the division, other countries within the region will seek to use the possibility of a U.S. military presence against their geopolitical enemies.
Most notable on this list is Thailand. Bangkok already has fairly extensive ties to Manila. It recently completed a large-scale joint military exercise -- Balikatan -- in which thousands of Filipino and U.S. troops trained side by side.
The United States will delay announcing its intentions for the 2nd Infantry Division until sometime in early 2005 -- because it might take that long to determine what the plans are. Meanwhile, it will not interfere much in the efforts of countries in the region to intimidate each other.
Given U.S. military planners' growing desperation to fill slots in Iraq, it is possible that Washington does not know where this unit -- and its assets -- will finally call home. What is clear is that there will be no shortage of interested hosts.
The odds-on choice would be Australia. Canberra already has expressed an interest in a semipermanent U.S. military presence and has invested large sums of money to purchase U.S. military equipment -- similar to the equipment used by the 2nd Infantry Division.
Although various factors suggest Australia as the potential future home for the division, other countries within the region will seek to use the possibility of a U.S. military presence against their geopolitical enemies.
Most notable on this list is Thailand. Bangkok already has fairly extensive ties to Manila. It recently completed a large-scale joint military exercise -- Balikatan -- in which thousands of Filipino and U.S. troops trained side by side.
The United States will delay announcing its intentions for the 2nd Infantry Division until sometime in early 2005 -- because it might take that long to determine what the plans are. Meanwhile, it will not interfere much in the efforts of countries in the region to intimidate each other.
