At the height of the Roman Empire, the Romans had an estimated 37 major military bases scattered around their dominions. At the height of the British Empire, the British had 36 of them worldwide.
Depending on just who you listen to and how you count, the U.S. has hundreds of bases. According to Pentagon records, in fact, there are 761 active U.S. military "sites" abroad. [including 58 bases in Iraq]
The fact is: We garrison the planet north to south, east to west, and even on the seven seas, thanks to our various fleets and our massive aircraft carriers which, with 5,000-6,000 personnel aboard -- that is, the population of an American town -- are functionally floating bases.
And here's the other half of that simple truth: We don't care to know about it. We, the American people, aided and abetted by our politicians, the Pentagon, and the mainstream media, are knee-deep in base denial.
[Excerpt of an article by Tom Engelhardt, TomDispatch]
No comments:
Post a Comment