Overseas bases cost more to run than domestic ones despite host-nation support
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 of100–120 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 topped170 billion. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29 (#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim
- XREF: connects to: US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least
71.8 billion annually — <cite>David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29</cite>; Stationing troops overseas costs tens of thousands more per person annually; Overseas bases and troops cost around136 billion in 2014 — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 647 (+5 more)
Related
- Independent estimates of overseas base costs exceed official figures tenfold (similarity 0.94)
- US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least $71.8 billion annually (similarity 0.93)
- True overseas base costs exceed the official Pentagon total by over threefold (similarity 0.93)
- U.S. bases and troops abroad cost about $170 billion in 2012 (similarity 0.92)
- Official overseas base costs for 2012 totaled 22.7 billion dollars (similarity 0.92)
- Overseas bases and troops cost around $136 billion in 2014 (similarity 0.91)
- Host countries bear steep financial and social costs from U.S. bases (similarity 0.91)
- Overseas basing costs more than domestic basing despite host-nation support (similarity 0.91)
- Stationing troops overseas costs tens of thousands more per person annually (similarity 0.89)
- War appropriations added about $80.6 billion in 2012 toward maintaining overseas bases (similarity 0.89)
- Host nations paid the U.S. about $1.1 billion in 2012 to sustain bases (similarity 0.88)
- Overseas base maintenance costs taxpayers over $100 billion annually (similarity 0.87)
- Official Pentagon figures understate overseas base costs by over fivefold (similarity 0.87)
- Stationing a soldier abroad costs each taxpayer $10,000–$40,000 more annually (similarity 0.87)
- Overseas base spending exceeds every federal agency’s budget except Defense. (similarity 0.86)
Broader Connections
- Stationing troops overseas costs tens of thousands more per person annually
#corroborates(0.70) - US overseas bases cost taxpayers at least $71.8 billion annually
#corroborates(0.60) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 29 - Overseas bases and troops cost around $136 billion in 2014
#corroborates(0.50) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 647 - True overseas base costs exceed the official Pentagon total by over threefold
#expands(0.50) - Official overseas base costs for 2012 totaled 22.7 billion dollars
#corroborates(0.50) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 604 - U.S. bases and troops abroad cost about $170 billion in 2012
#corroborates(0.50) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 647 - Host nations paid the U.S. about $1.1 billion in 2012 to sustain bases
#corroborates(0.40) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 629