U.S. military: occupier of allies

Facts are still awfully stubborn even in this era. Seventy years after the end of World War II, the U.S. military still occupies the main losers of the conflict and current “allies.” About 40,000 U.S. troops occupy Germany, while 60,000 occupy Japan. Fifty-four years since the end of the Korean War, almost 30,000 troops occupy South Korea. Fourteen years after the invasion of Afghanistan, a Praetorian guard of 11,000 is still in that country, and 12 years after the invasion of Iraq a force of about 5,000 troops, quickly growing, remains there. Some other significant footprints of the U.S. military on so-called sovereign countries are as follows: about 12,000 in Kuwait; 3,500 in Bahrain; 1,500 in Turkey; 11,000 in Italy; 10,000 in the United Kingdom; and 2,000 in Spain.

The overall U.S. military force overseas occupies more than 150 countries and amounts to the staggering number of 160,000 troops, with an additional 70,000 deployed in “contingency” operations with either the Navy, Air Force, or Special Forces. A priority of further military expansion, in this case through NATO, is Eastern Europe using the pretext of necessary defense against “Russia’s aggressions.” In Spring 2015, NATO will establish command centers in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia to oversee 5,000 troops.

Excerpt from “U.S. Military and NATO,” by Gilbert Mercier

—Counterpunch, February 2, 2015

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/03/02/praetorian-guard-of-the-orwellian-empire/