The Bush administration has delivered its firmest commitment yet to keeping US peacekeeping forces in the Balkans as long as NATO needs them.
"We went in together, we will come out together" Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, told a news conference today at NATO headquarters with NATO Secretary-General, Mr George Robertson.
In previous statements on the subject, the United States has said it would not withdraw its troops from NATO-led peacekeeping forces in Bosnia and Kosovo precipitously or without consultation with its NATO allies.
Members of the Bush election campaign dismayed Europeans last year by saying Washington might withdraw the troops from the Balkans unilaterally and leave the job to Europeans.
One of President George W. Bush's campaign themes was that the US military was over-stretched abroad and had spent too much on non-combat missions such as nation building in the 1990s in countries like Bosnia, Haiti and Somalia.
But Mr Powell said: "The United States is committed to the success of peacekeeping forces in the Balkans."
He said the US in consultation with NATO will review on a regular basis the right types and levels of its forces and would avoid any steps that would "jeopardise the alliance's success so far".
Mr Powell also sought to reassure Washington's European allies on US plans to build a missile defence system to protect the United States and its friends against ballistic missiles from countries they perceive as unpredictable such as North Korea and Iran.
He said the United States supported the European Union's plans to create its own rapid reaction force to deal with crises that NATO does not want to handle.