kyzr
Diamond Member
- Thread starter
- #121
Big debate on the Sunday morning talk shows, Trump wants to charge US allies the actual cost plus 50% for US forces stationed in their countries.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...91378986dbb_story.html?utm_term=.6de5012523a8
I can see both sides of this debate:
1. Why should US taxpayers borrow money to protect other countries, such as the EU from Russia, South Korea from NK, Japan from China, ME countries from Iran, etc.? Italy, WTF?? Lets say the cost of the major bases and not the small "lily pads" needed for local access all over.
2. The generals argue that the US bases secure our allies loyalty, and in today's world we need all the allies we can get. We are spending $24b a year to keep US troops in the EU. Trump wants $36b a year to keep them there, otherwise we bring most of them home because we can keep borrowing, the US is tapped out.
Lets take a poll...
Our presence in many countries are far more that protecting them. They also provide a deterrence to our actual and potential enemies. If the Straits of Hormuz was blocked by Iran, oil prices would skyrocket. There are vital shipping lanes that are at stake in the South China Sea. Without bases in Japan, it would be much harder to project our power. Also NATO has provided support in various US missions such as Afghanistan.
When you talk about costs, some things are wrongly added to the cost of overseas bases. Salaries and training are the same whether a soldier is based in the US or Germany. The only real cost is the cost of running the base.
Dick Cheney said it best. “I don’t know, that sounded like a New York state real estate deal to me,”.
No one is arguing that overseas bases aren't "convenient" and "strategic". The argument is who should pay for them? The US is tapped out at a $22T Debt and needs to cut back. So this thread is saying, based on Trump's proposal, either other countries help pay for the "world's cop" to have a military presence all over, or the US will close or cut back the size of some of the bases. Its all a matter of affordability.