Easier access to bases makes US military intervention more likely

Evidence

By making it simpler to wage foreign wars, they have made military action an even more attractive option among the foreign policy tools available to American policymakers, and they have made war more likely. (The rise of lily pad bases only deepens this problem, since a major part of their appeal for military officials is the flexibility they provide in applying military force without restriction.) The disastrous outcomes of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have created widespread public opposition to large-scale U.S. intervention and warfare—but as others have pointed out, when all you have in your foreign policy toolbox is hammers, everything starts looking like a nail. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1065

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

Related

• US overseas bases make war more likely by easing military action (similarity 0.89)
• Overseas bases make war more likely by lowering its cost (similarity 0.86)
• Offshore bases lower the threshold for launching interventionist wars (similarity 0.86)
• Overseas bases reveal America’s permanent war footing and militarized economy (similarity 0.83)
• Without a superpower rival, overseas bases enable offensive wars of choice (similarity 0.83)
• The global base network is what enables the U.S. to wage distant wars (similarity 0.82)
• New bases near China and Russia may create the threats they guard against (similarity 0.82)
• The US military can deploy power faster than any rival without foreign bases. (similarity 0.82)
• The overseas base network is what enables sustained distant warfare (similarity 0.81)
• Overseas bases enable interventionist wars rather than defensive protection (similarity 0.81)
• Bases near rival borders provoke arms races and discourage diplomacy (similarity 0.81)
• Hosting US bases makes host countries targets for attack (similarity 0.80)
• The reciprocal scenario of foreign bases in America is unthinkable (similarity 0.80)
• US military can project power farther than any rival without overseas bases (similarity 0.80)
• Base closures abroad tend to be offset by new base construction elsewhere (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Overseas bases ease the waging of foreign wars and make war likelier #corroborates (0.95)
• The global base network is what enables the U.S. to wage distant wars #corroborates (0.90) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 108
• Overseas bases enable interventionist wars rather than defensive protection #expands (0.85) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 35
• Overseas bases can increase global danger rather than security #expands (0.80) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1060
• Transport advances let the US deploy as quickly from home bases as overseas ones #complicates (0.75) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 37
• Overseas bases reveal America’s permanent war footing and militarized economy #expands (0.70) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 47