America's Empire of Bases

[DOGG]

It's not easy to assess the size or exact value of our empire of bases. Official records on these subjects are misleading, although instructive. According to the Defense Department's annual "Base Structure Report" for fiscal year 2003, which itemizes foreign and domestic U.S. military real estate, the Pentagon currently owns or rents 702 overseas bases in about 130 countries and has another 6,000 bases in the United States and its territories. Pentagon bureaucrats calculate that it would require at least $113.2 billion to replace just the foreign bases – surely far too low a figure but still larger than the gross domestic product of most countries – and an estimated $591,519.8 million to replace all of them. The military high command deploys to our overseas bases some 253,288 uniformed personnel, plus an equal number of dependents and Department of Defense civilian officials, and employs an additional 44,446 locally hired foreigners. The Pentagon claims that these bases contain 44,870 barracks, hangars, hospitals, and other buildings, which it owns, and that it leases 4,844 more

Whole article here:
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17563

[beowulf437]

Yes and because of the financial burden many of these bases will be close within two years.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1201/121401cdam2.htm

http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_closings_010704,00.html

Even just the downsizing of military bases has a great economic impact on the area around it. The recently downsized our local army base from 1200 military and 300 civilian presonel to 400 military and 40 civilian personel. That represents a loss of 1060 jobs in a town of 32,000. Do you have any idea of what kind of impact that makes? There are still plans in the works to close it completely.

What about those 44 thousand foreign civilians working on US military bases? When these bases close will they be able to get jobs as good as those? What about the money the military personel and their dependants pump into local economies? They shop at local stores, eat at local resturants, and use local services.

[dozer]

..rape local women

[Haalen]

Here is a listing and statistical information(civ pop. mil pop. etc.) of all american bases at home and abroad (http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jun2003/basestructure2003.pdf)

Here is a CSIS report on American military spending and capabilities compared to other world super powers (http://www.csis.org/mideast/reports/ussuper4_98.pdf)

Closing any military base will have a negative effect on the local economy. However overseas the negative effect can be fixed over time in various ways, most likely involving help from us.

[Ins0mniac]

Originally posted by dozer
..rape local women

That's what happens when U.S warships come to port here in my state.

Then they wont let them be tried here in Tassie. Bastard U.S government! :swear:

[DOGG]

They're closing bases OK. But that doesn't mean they're gonna dismiss all the soldiers. Especially in a time when theyre desperate to hold onto them. Bribing soldiers with $20,000 over 3 years if they stay (but decreasing veteran benifits), issuing stop loss orders, invoking emergency powers to increase capacity and such. Besides, the thing mentions only closures of bases inside the US. If you read the original article i posted you find out that they're actually building many new bases overseas. All they're doing is moving the manpower.

[durus]

Good article. Thanks for that. It's kind of funny to think that we're all so political and that we're politically active (passing on our opinions to others). Anyway, I advise anyone with a mild interest to read that first article and if you like that read the one about the billionaire stalking bush.

[DOGG]

Yep theyre moving manpower

The United States will pull out as many as a third of its 119,000 troops stationed in Europe, London's Financial Times reported Wednesday.

"The days of the giant U.S. barracks ... are over," A NATO diplomat in Brussels told the newspaper. "(Troops) will be sent on exercises or training missions to small bases established on a temporary basis in Poland, Romania or Bulgaria."
...
Russia has warned against moves by NATO or the United States to shift forces eastward once seven former communist countries join the European Union in May.

However, in Moscow last week, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell assured Russian President Vladimir Putin Washington had no intention of encircling Russia.

http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story.asp?StoryId=Cqcb8ueidDxmTDhjVB3bZ