So Many US Military Bases... Why?

Hmmm said:
Yep. There are a few, dating from the days of the revolutionary war up to the Civil War, don't ask me names or locations because I can't answer that. IIRC the Brits helped the Union and the French helped the Confederates.
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During the Revolution France sent its Army & Navy here, & that was probably the diffrence between winning & losing. That is the last time a Country has sent it military here to help defend us. Well the Canadians flew some CAP missions after a couple of our F-15s fell apart in flight. Don't know if they flew inside the US or not. The US recruited individuals from Europe as defacto mercenaries with promises of land during the Civil War. England supplied arms to both sides. Apx 1 million P-53 Enfields sent with 60% CS & 40% US destinations. Not to mention CS recieving Cannons, accrutrements, uniforms, ammo, ect, from G.B.
 
How about, why not? If you're a world superpower and an important player in NATO why not have bases in your friend's country's?

I know that what I am saying is putting things into "stupid" terms but people are over thinking it way too much.
 
That's about what I said a couple of days ago. "Why not?" If we can - in other words have the troops, the money to build a base & a need for it, whether perceived, imagined or real, & are welcome by at least the ruling authority of that country, again why not?

I have served my country for 27 years & feel no need or desire to have to apologise for it. What people think is what people think & besides anything that I feel about the subject is totally insignificant. It's all above my paygrade any any event.
 
Actually there is no need to apologize or anything like that. In fact, in the cases I can think of anyway, it is a GOOD thing.

But if someone asks why, "why not" is probably not a great answer and will do little more than to piss off the opposite party.
If you can imagine another country building their military bases across America, you're taking a step in the right direction. People do have the right to ask "why" and deserve a better answer than "why not."
 
Agreed Can O' but to an American it's just as objectionable for someone to ask "why" as it is for one of us to ask "why not".

Imagine - a bunch of American enlisted, a few officers & a bunch of non-military citizens having to answer to a question in which we have absolutely no say concerning base openings & closings can be pretty volatile if you ask me. Unless he thinks we have the power to shut down overseas bases to please him. I don't know. Is the question asked to provoke us? To belittle us? To question our moral standings in the world? To show us in the light of the ugly American. Again I'll ask "why not" to any provacative question asking "why". I have no need to apologize for my country nor any desire to do so. Lots of good it'd do anyway. Would he be mollified if I would say I'm sorry we have bases all over the world?

Damn little we can do about it anyhow.
 
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MSG Glenn said:
Damn little we can do about it anyhow.
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Aint that the truth!

I think no matter where we go, if we are representing our country in uniform, we are representatives of our country.
There ought to be some kind of answer that should be the right one in case anyone asks.
If the local disagrees, just say that the protection, freedom and well being of the said local is very important to you and you will do your utmost best to defend it at all costs. If he dislikes the idea of Americans being in his country, tell him that he can take it up to his government with the rest of the population because neither person in the conversation as the authority to do anything.
 
A Can of Man said:
Aint that the truth!

I think no matter where we go, if we are representing our country in uniform, we are representatives of our country.
There ought to be some kind of answer that should be the right one in case anyone asks.
If the local disagrees, just say that the protection, freedom and well being of the said local is very important to you and you will do your utmost best to defend it at all costs. If he dislikes the idea of Americans being in his country, tell him that he can take it up to his government with the rest of the population because neither person in the conversation as the authority to do anything.
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Now you're talkin'.

But I've been taught that when assigned overseas it's best to stay out of provacative discussions with natives. Nobody wins. Smile & ignore them. "No habla". Hard keeping hard-chargin' Paratroopers from kickin' a$$.
 
All true MSG.
It's best to try to use the language barrier to avoid trouble. A smile can go a long way.
After all, there's a good possibility that the local is NOT a reasonable person.
 
Well, the reason I ask is so I can understand more.

Is these bases benefiting the people of the US?
Is the benefit worth the salt being put into it?

No matter how you look at it, I care about how my country do things. Not that I think you guys are able to do anything about it.


I have a feeling every president is afraid to lower the military budget. It is going unchecked! Look at news on CNN when they said, US was buying things from Iraq at a much higher cost than it should have. Seems to me we are doing all these things at a cost while Iraq is getting it for free... We still pay for the oil, so anyone bringing that up should know that.

When you have so much money, spending goes unchecked as if they can spend how much they like. I believe if the military budget is decrease or at least regulated better, we will have a much more cost-effective pricing.


We are losing 1 trillion.... Notice how the budget of the military is not even phased! That is dangerous thinking, that you can buy without caution? I know a good amount of stuff about it, but I just can't understand the need for so many darn bases.


In my opinion it would be best to close these bases down except in the most IMPORTANT places that would seem to need it. If we have a war, we have the biggest friggen navy out there. Wouldn't it be best in the long-term to shut them down and make more bases in the US?

Tell me what 20,000 troops in a barracks are going to do if some country attacks it without warning? Sure they will be a buffer, but that is just giving your enemies the men AND the military base, which have to be at least a couple million if not hundreds of millions of dollars.

I also wonder how much these countries are charging.

If you say things like. "Why not if we have the money?" That is a dangerous outlook. I won't accept such a stupid answer.
 
A Can of Man said:
Personally I don't mind this "American Empire" because regardless of flaws or whatnot, Americans at least value the words "freedom" and "liberty." They might not know what it is, but the fact that they value it means that it will be very tricky for the US government to justify any action that oppresses people abroad. The fact that these words are valued puts them on a different plane of morality than the alternatives (China, Russia for example). When America does something contrary to these beliefs, we call it a major screwup and a crime. When the alternative powers act contrary to these beliefs, it's just another day in the office.
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Does the term "Bannana republic" ring a bell? America has done many right things, perhaps the most right things of any nation on earth, and I won't be ashamed to say that I really love this country (just not quite a bit of it's less intelligent people) but many of it's actions are quite bad.
 
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Like I said, every country makes mistakes.
Just because it has made some bad choices does not mean it is a bad country. I can't stress this enough. Whenever I do talk about some of the poorer choices that America has made, some folks just jump on the whole thing and call me anti-American. I am not. Currently in this period of time, many things are not going well for the US, but in its core I believe that it is a good country.
There is a difference.
There are quite a few other countries where things are going rather well currently, but if you ask me whether or not they are good countries at heart, that, I am yet to be convinced that they are.
 
A Can of Man said:
Like I said, every country makes mistakes.
Just because it has made some bad choices does not mean it is a bad country. I can't stress this enough. Whenever I do talk about some of the poorer choices that America has made, some folks just jump on the whole thing and call me anti-American. I am not. Currently in this period of time, many things are not going well for the US, but in its core I believe that it is a good country.
There is a difference.
There are quite a few other countries where things are going rather well currently, but if you ask me whether or not they are good countries at heart, that, I am yet to be convinced that they are.
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I think that out of the great/superpowers of the world, America has the fewest skeletons in it's closet. After all, it was not the government's idea, but the idea of some very, very corrupt business men.
 
I think people from other countries are upset because their corrupt governments are not as good at it as the US. They are all jealous that we can be so much better at corruption than they can.

This thread was about why the US has so many bases. It is because our corruption base is so extensive.:)

"I think that out of the great/superpowers of the world, America has the fewest skeletons in it's closet." quote Czin

Currently, technically the US is the only Superpower thanks to our expertise in corruption.
 
In about 40 or so years, the leases on a lot of those bases will expire and will go back to the british. I wonder how that would work out. Because by then I expect the E.U to become one nation, and to have expanded a little. (Turkey would have definitely become part of it by then.)
 
Czin said:
In about 40 or so years, the leases on a lot of those bases will expire and will go back to the British. I wonder how that would work out. Because by then I expect the E.U to become one nation, and to have expanded a little. (Turkey would have definitely become part of it by then.)
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What leases will revert to the British? The ones in Britain? When US base leases expire the land reverts to the country the base is in.
 
Czin said:
In about 40 or so years, the leases on a lot of those bases will expire and will go back to the british. I wonder how that would work out. Because by then I expect the E.U to become one nation, and to have expanded a little. (Turkey would have definitely become part of it by then.)
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Well either the contract expires and it is not renewed or the contract is renewed before it expires.

As for Turkey joining the EU, this may actually not happen. Germany and Austria are traditional foes with Turkey and also have an immigration issue they consider a huge problem involving Turks. Turkey may decide to become a leader of a pan-Turkic arrangement and look eastwards instead.
 
A Can of Man said:
Well either the contract expires and it is not renewed or the contract is renewed before it expires.

As for Turkey joining the EU, this may actually not happen. Germany and Austria are traditional foes with Turkey and also have an immigration issue they consider a huge problem involving Turks. Turkey may decide to become a leader of a pan-Turkic arrangement and look eastwards instead.
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Considering that Turkey has made so much inway to joining the E.U and N.A.T.O (the latter of which is about as useful in the world as a sack of air is against a rampaging Tyrannosaurus Rex in an F-14) I don't think they'd let so much effort go to waste.
 
Czin said:
In about 40 or so years, the leases on a lot of those bases will expire and will go back to the british. I wonder how that would work out. Because by then I expect the E.U to become one nation, and to have expanded a little. (Turkey would have definitely become part of it by then.)
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I don't expect E.U will become one nation freely. That is fantasy thinking if you ask me. Too much French-Brit rivalry, makes that close to impossible as you need both those nations to even make a E.U be effective.

Each country in the E.U have their own interest. E.U is basically a economical agreement between the countries, nothing more. The nations in the E.U wouldn't even want to help the other out militarily.

I think the major one in NATO is the United States, Britain, and Canada... The only reason so many countries joined it is because the UN advised and they know those three countries were in it.

UN is the voice, NATO is the fist. The only major countries in E.U is Britain, France, and Germany(which is not allowed to make an army too great in size).
 
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