Host countries bear steep financial and social costs from U.S. bases

Evidence

By my very conservative calculations, the total cost of maintaining bases and military personnel overseas reaches at least 71.8 billion every year and could easily be in the range of 100–120 billion. That’s larger than the discretionary budget for every government agency except the Defense Department itself. And this number doesn’t even include spending on bases in overseas war zones. If we include the cost of bases and troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, in 2012 the total easily topped 170 billion. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

The presence of U.S. bases can turn a country into a target for foreign powers or militants. On Guam, a dark Cold War joke said that Soviet nuclear missile targeters were just about the only people who could locate the island on a map; with a China-focused U.S. military buildup under way, some are expressing similar concerns about Chinese missiles potentially targeting the island today. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 36 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The United States commonly pays host nations rather than the reverse.; Host nations paid the U.S. about 1.1 billion in 2012 to sustain bases — <cite>David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 629</cite>; US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least 71.8 billion annually — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29 (+5 more)

Related

• Overseas bases cost more to run than domestic ones despite host-nation support (similarity 0.91)
• Host nations paid the U.S. about $1.1 billion in 2012 to sustain bases (similarity 0.90)
• The United States commonly pays host nations rather than the reverse. (similarity 0.90)
• Japan covers roughly three-quarters of U.S. basing costs annually (similarity 0.88)
• US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least $71.8 billion annually (similarity 0.87)
• Overseas basing costs more than domestic basing despite host-nation support (similarity 0.86)
• Independent estimates of overseas base costs exceed official figures tenfold (similarity 0.86)
• Hosting US bases makes host countries targets for attack (similarity 0.86)
• Stationing troops overseas costs tens of thousands more per person annually (similarity 0.86)
• U.S. bases and troops abroad cost about $170 billion in 2012 (similarity 0.86)
• Official overseas base costs for 2012 totaled 22.7 billion dollars (similarity 0.84)
• Keeping U.S. troops in Japan costs taxpayers over a billion dollars extra annually (similarity 0.84)
• True overseas base costs exceed the official Pentagon total by over threefold (similarity 0.84)
• Stationing a soldier abroad costs each taxpayer $10,000–$40,000 more annually (similarity 0.84)
• Overseas bases and troops cost around $136 billion in 2014 (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least $71.8 billion annually #corroborates (0.80) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29
• Hosting US bases makes host countries targets for attack #corroborates (0.75) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 36
• Japan covers roughly three-quarters of U.S. basing costs annually #qualifies (0.70)
• Base hosts invest in public welfare while the U.S. neglects domestic needs. #corroborates (0.60)
• Japan and South Korea each contributed $2.3 billion toward US bases in 2012 #corroborates (0.60)
• Japan’s payments to host U.S. bases exceed a plausible security rationale today #corroborates (0.50)