CONSTANTA, Romania — U.S. troops may soon use Balkans (search) bases for training sites and staging points for possible interventions in the Middle
East as the Pentagon weighs withdrawing 15,000 soldiers from Germany (search), diplomats and government officials in Europe say.
Speculation about U.S. bases in newly democratic eastern Europe began months ago with NATO's decision to expand membership to the former Soviet bloc.
On a recent stop in Bulgaria, which joins next year, Gen. Charles Wald, deputy U.S. Army commander in Europe, said that "as NATO (search) moves east
our presence and our participation will have to be where NATO is."
But Balkan bases first used by the Americans during the Iraq war may get a full-time U.S. presence even before the official NATO expansion, said
Western diplomats and local officials, who agreed to discuss the situation on condition of anonymity.
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