The officials, who briefed reporters at the Pentagon on condition they not be identified, would not enter into specifics about any proposed changes in its force posture in Europe and Asia.

But they described a broad shift from having forces deployed at fixed bases near where they might expect to fight to having them arranged so they could be rapidly deployed to unexpected trouble spots.

After briefing governments in Europe in December and Asia earlier this year on the rationale for the realigment, senior US officials now "are in the process of a more detailed consultation where partner by partner we are in the realm of putting more specific notions on the table," a senior State Department official said.

The discussions have dealt with specific places US forces would be deployed, military facilities and units, the official said.

The broad US concepts have been generally well received so far, and governments recognize the need to make changes, the official said.

"But we need to go there and show more specifics that have to do with important defense facilities, units, etc. to have a discussion that is worthy of these relationships," he said. "So we are at the phase now of having specific discussions and soliciting feedback."

Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced plans to withdraw a third of its 37,500 troops from South Korea by the end of next year.

The New York Times reported last week that the United States is considering withdrawing two Army divisions from Germany as well as other moves within Europe as part of the realignment.

The officials stressed that they were still consulting with governments, and their inputs would shape the final plan.

"There is not a single way forward on this. We know what we want to end with as capabilities. There are a number of different options, and ways to get that. And that's part of the consultative process," a senior defense official said.

Decisions about where and how troops will be deployed must also be synchronized with decisions next year on a round of US base closings, a second senior defense official said.

A key aim of the realignment is to create not just rapidly deployable forces, but a force structure that can easily be moved and adjusted in response to uncertain conditions, the official said.

"We need to be rapdily deployable in the capabilities we have. And that rapid deployability is not in a particular asset, but in the whole architecture - it's from the command and control, to the major operating pieces, to the support pieces," he said.

A key aspect of the consultations will be access to bases in different parts of the world.

"Before we get to the numbers (of troops), there is also the issue of how often we can move forces in or out, how much can we change that mix of forces, what sort of training capability will we have," said the first defense official.

j/cehm

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