The U.S. has around 800 military bases outside of the nation's borders. They're home to hundreds of thousands of troops and family members, and, in many cases, they're a cause of controversy.
David Vine, an associate professor of anthropology at American University, argues that we've become too dependent on such overseas bases — and that many of them cause serious opposition abroad. He lays out his thinking in his new book, Base Nation: How the U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World.
Most of the bases were established during or shortly after World War II. And ever since, Vine says, there have been pockets of local opposition.
WNU Editor: Some people in some countries are not happy with this U.S. presence .... 70 years after the war, Okinawa protests new US military base (Al Jazeera). My guess is that it depends on the country, and what is their history with the U.S.. As to the overall role that the U.S. has played on global security .... I would say that the U.S. has played a positive role .... but I would also acknowledge that there has been disasters where the U.S. presence could not calm a country or region when many of its local inhabitants harboured resentments or animosities amongst themselves .... and may in fact have inflamed them and made them worse. Iraq is the current case study for this type of disaster.
1 comment:
I was stationed in Europe for several years and there would be periodic protests against our presence there. Many apartments near the base hung signs or banners saying "No Base!" "USA 666" etc. Does that mean we were universally disliked? Absolutely not. But we pumped more money into bars, strip clubs, and late night debauchery than anything else. Oh, and don't forget about the fights.
There were people who loved the amount of money our presence brought in, but for the average person who didn't benefit from that, there was a perpetual 'debauched gorilla' lingering in the middle of the room for years on end.
I wouldn't want a base in my backyard, especially if it was full of foreigners who don't speak my language, and whose job was, literally, to f**k s**t up!
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