US keen to station troops in NZ: Panetta
The United States would consider stationing troops on New Zealand soil if our Government asked for them as part of a burgeoning defence relationship, US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta says. Mr Panetta left New Zealand on Saturday after a whistlestop visit as part of a broader US push to shore up allegiances in the Pacific... His visit marked a watershed in the relationship, after he announced the US would lift a ban on New Zealand naval ships using US ports, and scrap the requirement for a waiver before defence top brass from both countries meet.