WASHINGTON, March 26: The commander of US troops in Europe on Thursday outlined plans for a reduced, more mobile force working from smaller bases that could dart in and out of hot spots and stabilize areas from Eastern Europe to Africa.

Marine Corps Gen James Jones, head of the US European Command, said the Pentagon was nearing final decisions on realigning operations in Europe and he expected to be ready to consult with allies on the plan in two to three months.

Mr Jones, who is also Supreme Allied Commander of NATO forces in Europe, told a House Appropriations subcommittee that the number of US troops to be withdrawn from the region was still under discussion.

The changes in Europe will "make our forces more strategically usable and more effective both toward the greater Middle East ... and in my area which is emerging threats and conditions in Africa and the security of the Mediterranean," the general said.

He declined to comment on a report in The Washington Post that up to half of the 71,000 troops based in Germany could be withdrawn. "My view is that we're still negotiating. We're still talking about the size of the footprint and how it will look," he said.

There are now about 118,000 US troops in Europe, most of them in Western Europe and more than half in Germany. The Post, citing US officials, also said 15,000 troops of the 100,000 in Asia could be withdrawn.

NO DECISIONS YET: It said under a draft plan smaller bases would be set up in Romania and possibly Bulgaria and training facilities would be set up in Poland.

Bases in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that were established in 2001 to support the war in Afghanistan would be preserved as training sites and quick staging areas for use in emergencies, the Post said.

Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called the report and others on troop withdrawals speculation. "They not only don't know, they can't know," he told reporters. -Reuters