Reductions in U.S. Costs to Station Forces in the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom Are Unlikely

摘要

Congress has expressed a strong and continuing interest in reducing the costs of stationing U.S. Forces in Europe through increased cost sharing by the European allies. The Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom provide substantial support to U.S. Forces stationed there, and are major contributors to the common defense of NATO. Unless the U.S. commitment to NATO is reduced, it is unlikely that U.S. costs to station forces in those two countries will decline. Even the withdrawal of our troops would not necessarily reduce, and might increase, overall defense spending. Therefore, when considering the reduction of U.S. stationing costs, the broader issues of U.S. security objectives in Europe and the forces required to meet these objectives must also be addressed. This is the unclassified version of an earlier GAO report on this subject.