But that wasn't the case in 1946, was it?
It took several years before Germany was allowed to govern itself again, 7 years if memory serves. In the first year or so after the war, the occupation was decidedly different.
The questions remain: Why are tens of thousands of American military personnel still stationed in Europe nearly 60 years after the war ended? Why are thousands of Americans still in the former Yugoslav republics? Why aren't European nations meeting their own defense needs? Why should we keep paying for a defense that the European nations themselves seem to believe unnecessary?