Closing overseas bases is politically easier than closing domestic ones
Evidence
Closing these and other bases may seem like a daunting task. Powerful institutional forces within the military, in the State Department, and among U.S. and local politicians and businesses will often align to block such change and maintain the status quo. On the other hand, compared to the challenge of closing domestic bases, closing overseas installations should be relatively easy. After all, U.S. politicians have few constituents abroad to whom they need be beholden. Prioritizing the interests of the country, its citizens, and the military itself by shutting down unnecessary bases is a realistic goal. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1072
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- QUESTION: Worth verifying whether overseas base closures have indeed faced fewer domestic political obstacles than domestic BRAC closures historically.
Related
- Closing overseas bases draws support across the US political spectrum. (similarity 0.85)
- Transportation advances have erased the deployment-time advantage of overseas bases (similarity 0.81)
- Overseas bases generate dependent communities that resist closure (similarity 0.81)
- Technological advances have made overseas deployment nearly no faster than domestic deployment. (similarity 0.80)
- Overseas bases are among the least contested policies in American politics (similarity 0.80)
- Base closures abroad tend to be offset by new base construction elsewhere (similarity 0.80)
- US overseas bases make war more likely by easing military action (similarity 0.79)
- Dissent against the overseas base policy is dismissed as isolationism or peacenik idealism (similarity 0.79)
- Career incentives lead officials to keep overseas bases open (similarity 0.78)
Broader Connections
- Transport advances let the US deploy as quickly from home bases as overseas ones
#contradicts(0.60) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 37