The drone attack on US military outpost, Tower 22, that killed three and injured dozens more has provoked the predictable American call for revenge. Irony of ironies: the incoming drone that did the killing was mistaken for an American drone returning from some mission. Who got killed by our drone??
What is not questioned is why American soldiers are posted to Jordan, or
- Ouagadougou International Airport (Burkina Faso)
- Bosasso (Somalia)
- Prince Sultan Air Base (Saudi Arabia)
- Ørland Main Air Station (Norway)
- Krtsanisi Training Centre (Georgia)
- Port of Salalah (Oman)
- Al Asad Air Base (Iraq) – 2,500 troops in Iraq
- Utapao Royal Thai Naval Air Station (Thailand)
- Camp Arturo Enrile Malaguta (Philippines)
- Tindal Air Base (Australia)
- Pine Gap (Australia)
- Pele U.S. Army Reserve Center (American Samoa)
- Larandia Army Post (Colombia)
- Fuerte Aguayo NB, Concón (Chile)
- Duelmen Tower Barracks (Germany) – 46,562 troops in Germany
- Rotterdam Netherlands (Netherlands) – 641 troops in Netherlands
- RAF Mildenhall (United Kingdom) – 10,770 troops in UK
- NSA Naples IT (Italy) – 14,776 troops in Italy
- Camp Fuji (Japan) – 63,690 troops in Japan
Ok, you get the idea. The US has over 500 acknowledged military bases outside the US. Secret bases that might house the CIA and DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency – creature of America’s longest war) are a mystery. Here is an interactive map that explores the world of American military bases:
USA’s Military Empire: A Visual Database
So, why are we surprised that American soldiers are being killed in faraway places? Why are they there in the first place? Defending democracy and the American way of life? Then, there is our use of drone warfare to kill people we don’t like. I think it would do Americans good to imagine Chinese or Russian troops permanently based in NYC or Omaha?
What do you expect??
Per capita military spending:
- US – $2,642 ($76,343 per capita GDP)
- China – $207 ($12,670 per capita GDP)
- Russia – $606 ($16,466 per capital GDP)
- India – $57 ($2,393 per capita GDP)
- Saudi Arabia – $2,344 ($34,441 per capita GDP)
- UK – $1,016 ($46,125 per capita GDP)
