Would you believe more than 700? Our former enemies in WWII have almost 300, 174 in Germany and 113 in Japan. Another country where we went to war, South Korea, has 83. The remaining 300+ are in 70 countries from Aruba to Kenya to Thailand. Is there a need for so many?
They are costly. We pay on average $10,000 to $40,000 more for each service member stationed abroad, compared with those at home. This works out to about $85 billion a year and does not count Iraq and Afghanistan, which would bring the number to $156 billion.
They are not needed. Studies by the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Bush administration and by the RAND Corporation show that advances in moving forces by air and sea have largely erased the advantage of forward stationing of troops; the military can generally deploy troops just as quickly from domestic bases as it can from bases abroad.
They can generate hatred of us by the native population. Vide the bombings in Germany in the 1980s or the 2000 attack on the Navy destroyer Cole in Yemen. Research shows that United States bases and troops in the Middle East correlate with Al Qaeda recruitment.
They heighten military tension. Having bases near China or Russia does not convince them of how peaceful we are.
We're closing domestic bases. Shouldn't we be close foreign bases as well?
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