'Germany to shoulder US Europe pullout'

"The Americans will almost certainly reduce their troop presence in Europe further and in doing so will also close military bases," said Otfried Nassauer, director of the Berlin Information Center for Trans-Atlantic Security.

The speculation draws heavily on the current status of the US economy which faces a national debt of more than $15 trillion after a decade of costly wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

On January 5, US President Barack Obama announced the shift in Washington's defense strategy to reduce the expenses. He said reductions will not be arbitrary, linear or unilateral and that the defense budget would be spent in accordance with strategic needs.

He, however, insisted that his administration “will be strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of this critical region.”

US officials, meanwhile, said the country would keep a large presence in the Middle East despite the late 2011 withdrawal from Iraq, pushing Europe as Washington's third military priority, to say the least.

The US military commitment in Europe must "necessarily" adapt to the new financial circumstances, said US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, "especially given Europe's security needs compared to strategic priorities elsewhere."

Nassauer said that this would most likely affect Germany, which hosts 52,000 US troops -- the largest contingent of American forces outside the United States, after Afghanistan.

"One can assume that the Americans will encourage the Germans to assume a proportionate share of the military defense burden," he said, predicting that German troops might have to be more proactive on the international arena.

Oliver Thranert, a security expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, also speculated US troop reductions in Germany ruled out a "full withdrawal" as unlikely.

"Europe will remain an important partner for the United States," he said. "But when conflicts occur on our own doorstep in the future, Europe will have to resolve them alone."

Secret US State Department dispatches published by WikiLeaks dating back to January 21, 2010 revealed a total of 10,471 US soldiers and army employees will exit Germany by 2015 at the latest.