Why does the US Military have so many bases in other countries...?

Question

but other countries don't have too much to do here on our soil? Sure they come to train at places like School of the Americas on Fort Benning, GA. BUT, why don't they have BASES here? You know, like we have in Korea, Germany, Spain...uh, everywhere except New Zealand basically. Heard that's coming soon though too.

Answer 1

We have bases to keep combat forces close to the action. If another country, say Germany, feared Mexico was threatening to invade America, AND the US couldn't defend itself alone, they might put a base in Oklahoma to let the Mexicans know it would be a bad idea to invade unless they want to be at war with oh so powerful Germany too. Using that example, what exactly would be the point? No one on our continent is remotely threatened with invasion & if they were we could handle it just fine.

As to your training comments, I don't think you realize how extensive our training of foreign allies is. On a typical day, the combined number of foreign troops on duty in the US is would be one of the top ten militaries in the world by size. We do EXTENSIVE pilot training in Texas for all of NATO & many other countries. The Defense language school in Calif is constantly full of foreign students. We send foreign cadets to all of our military service academies. Foreign students attend special operations selction trianing, including BUD/s with navy seals. Airborne school has to be the most used. There's a whole company there that's exlusively for foreign students. I knew a jumpmaster there - you get foreign jump wings when you jump with them - that had jump wings from 28 countries. Anyway, it's VERY extensive & involves virtually every training training program conducted byteh US for our own people.

Finally, most of the bases we have now are in fact a left over of the cold war. We're starting with moving a third of our troops back from Europe to the US & closing many bases in Germany. We'll keep an air base & rapid reaction force there. We share air bases in Italy & England. We share naval bases in Spain & Italy. We have an airborne regiment in Italy as a rapid reaction force. We have a navy & a marine base in Japan whcih is changing a lot after nego with them, but they want us there protecting them & Taiwan from both the Koreans & Chinese. We have a division in Korea, but they have been moved further way from the DMZ & may be mostly removed if that situation settles down.

Form there we are trying to evolve into a post-cold war forward basing structure. We're working out of a temporary base in Kazikstan but the Russians don't like that. We'd like to base a decent size force ouside but close to the mid-east. Afghanistan is a long-term possibility, we may also maintain a navy base in the Persian Gulf. We're also looking at a base in teh Horn of Africa. There will be changes in the pacific as well, but those are slower developing. Other countries do have bases outside their country, many have several, but they are not superpowers that need to protect their allies directly.

Answer 2

An attack un-provoked is terrorism, regardless of the location. Terrorism is usually associated with an attack by an individual and not by another army or military force. When the US Marines kick in some innocent persons door at 3AM in Baghdad to look for an insurgent, (freedom fighter), it is not terrorism, although if it happened to Americans it would be considered terrorism. How come the US never bothered with their buddy Saddam Hussein until after 9/11?

Answer 3

For compacts with other countries.. for political gain.. for the benefit of American's and so that we have weapons pointed in all directions from several locations if the time comes that we need them.. and we may need them soon.

We do not allow them to have bases here because that would jeopardize our safety and our power.

Answer 4

Because of treaties we have with those countries. They are our allies. Their governments actually want us there to help protect them, and at the same time it affords our country a strategic benefit all-around. Not to mention the economic benefits the other countries and surrounding town enjoy from our personnel.

Answer 5

we're in some of those countries because we promised to help protect them. others because it gets us closer to the trouble spots. ie south korea. makes sense dont it. other countries dont have bases here because we have the capability to take care of ourselves. also what country needs to set up bases here? unless the germans are scared of the canadians what is the point.

Answer 6

Left over from the Cold War to stop the Soviets.

Answer 7

Other countries have asked us to keep bases in their country to help protect them. We don't need other countries.

Answer 8

because the US military needs access to the rest of the world in case we need to whip some a$$. some was acquired during the cold war and others thru our strategically located friends.

Answer 9

Probably becuase we are always out helping all these countries and others.

Answer 10

to watch out for the us interest in other countries