Forum: Air Power

US abroad airbases (different from NATO bases) have been an invaluable tool of militar control and projectability for USAF, expecially during Cold War. In many cases they are direct consequence of WWII "militar compensations" (Italy, Germany, Japan), although there are others (like UK, Israel, Philippines, Spain, Bahrein) who are not. I guess to date, USAF is the only Air Force who can compare its projectability with Navy's, as other nations must rely mainly on carriers to bring some robust airpower abroad.

It must be said that sometimes these bases create problems with national sovereign. As far as i know, problems have arisen in Treviso in Italy, Okinawa in Japan, etc. Moreover, i heard about a call for bases rationalization (=closures?).

Just to finish, i read some time ago about <a href="http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3738/is_200510/ai_n15705083" target="_blank">Seabasing</a>, which

Quote:

is to enable the military to project power jointly throughout the world's littoral regions with minimal or no access to nearby shore bases and with no long-term U.S. footprint on foreign shores. [...] Increasingly even longtime friends and allies are reluctant to allow U.S. forces the use of their ports, air bases or airspace during times of trouble. In 2003, Turkey and Saudi Arabia turned a cold shoulder to America's requests for help as it prepared to unseat Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. In 2001, many Arab allies refused the use of air bases - some built at U.S. expense - as America prepared to retaliate against the terrorists in Afghanistan for the 9/11 attacks on our nation. In 1986, Spain and France denied the U.S. overflight rights for F-111s based in England as the Pentagon readied its strike on Libya for the sponsorship of terrorism aimed at the United States, including the bombing of a West Berlin discothèque frequented by American soldiers.

What do you think ? Are Foreign US bases still necessary?

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Absoloutely.

I have a question
How many times has the US interfered (except Iraq) with the normal day to day business of another government?

When I came in the AF, my first duty station was CNA, Camp New Amsterdam. We were under Dutch control and were under Dutch law. Nothing was done without Dutch authorization or consent.
Now a lot of the people here I think, I could be wrong, but I think are Europeans, and some have been very vocal about US on their land.
If you remember the only reason we were there to start with was to keep you and us free from Hitler and later Stalin. We also pay for the right to base our troops on your soil. Did Hitler pay anything to France, Belgium, or Holland?
What about Stalin did he pay tribute to the Balkans or East Europe?

If we are on your land it is by consent of your government, and not by force of will by the US or it's people.
I think post such as this are destructive for good international relations. You need to go back and study more of the history of the world, not just the last 20 years to understand what true oppression and occupation is.
Sure the US is not always right, we make mistakes just like you but we would rather be at peace than war anytime. We have a way of correcting our mistake every four years, sometimes even sooner, without making war on ourselves or our neighbors.
I would encourage you to step up and ask these questions of your own leaders, get the behind the scene truth from them first, about how much aid the US sends to them, see how your economy has profited by that aid.
See how fast they are willing to give that up before asking the question should the US not be anywhere.
There are bigger issues we as a world need to address as a whole, because we all live in the same house, this house called Earth.

Very well put. Thumb

I remember when Rumsfeld wanted to relocate several Germany-based elements to eastern Europe (Poland and Romania I think), the German Bundestag almost blew a gasket! We may call ya interlopers, imperialists, and hegemonists...but c'mon!...we still want your bucks!

Is it an inconvenience to have so many GIs in your backyard? Perhaps. Depends on who ya ask. But you can't argue with the tangible stuff a US military presence brings to the area. Sure...there are problems and a few trouble-makers (who we promptly take care of) but by and large, I think having a US military contingent in your area raises the standard of living for everyone. Just ask the Poles and Romanians who would've LOVED to have had just one American fighter wing permanently based on their soil.

We would of loved to have an American fighter from the 5'th generation in ROmania.
But with Romanian pilots and the Romania Air Force's sign on their wings

Forum: Air Power

US abroad ABs