Most base agreements are secret executive agreements bypassing Congress

Evidence

Even in the most democratic of countries, the agreements that form the legal and political foundation for maintaining our bases are almost always secret, in whole or in part. In the interest of transparency and democracy, Congress should require that every status of forces agreement and base agreement on the books be published in its entirety. Many basing agreements are secret because they have been created as executive agreements not subject to congressional oversight. But base agreements are effectively treaties, and they should be subject to Congress’s approval. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1078

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains how status of forces agreements escape legislative oversight via the executive agreement device.
• QUESTION: Worth verifying: how common specifically is SOFA secrecy across the various base countries?
• SEED: Angle: an article on how executive agreements have become a shadow treaty system for America’s global footprint.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1078
• XREF: connects to: Congress often acts as a ratifying agency for agreements reached outside it. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 1379