Europe will remain strategically important and worthy of attention as the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan come to conclusions, the commander of U.S. Army Europe said during the Association of the U.S. Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition Oct. 9. It would be "a dangerous strategy to revert to isolationism," Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling said, to an audience of AUSA chapter presidents. Hertling noted that Europe still has 41,000 U.S. soldiers stationed there, providing 20 percent of the forces that have deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as Kosovo. And European allies provide 85 percent of the International Security Assistance Force now serving in Afghanistan, he said. "We all must place greater emphasis on allies and regional partners," Hertling said.
