Overseas bases reveal America’s permanent war footing and militarized economy

Evidence

In this respect, Base Nation is about more than bases alone. Overseas bases offer a lens through which we can look honestly and unflinchingly at our country, our place in the world, and how we interact with the rest of the planet. Examining America’s sprawling collection of bases abroad can help us see how the United States has placed itself on a permanent war footing, with an economy and a government dominated by continuous preparations for battle. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 47

Categorization

Category: Connection Points

• XREF: Connects to critiques of the military-industrial complex and analyses of permanent war economies.

Related

• Analyzing overseas bases reveals America’s economy runs on continuous war preparations. (similarity 0.91)
• The overseas base network is what enables sustained distant warfare (similarity 0.88)
• US overseas bases make war more likely by easing military action (similarity 0.85)
• The global base network is what enables the U.S. to wage distant wars (similarity 0.85)
• The destroyers-for-bases deal transformed the US into a global military power. (similarity 0.85)
• Without a superpower rival, overseas bases enable offensive wars of choice (similarity 0.85)
• Postwar US power substituted a global base network for direct colonial control (similarity 0.84)
• The U.S. holds more foreign bases than any empire in history (similarity 0.83)
• By 1900 the U.S. had an overseas base network rivaling European colonial powers (similarity 0.83)
• Overseas bases create entrenched constituencies dependent on their continuation (similarity 0.83)
• US military can project power farther than any rival without overseas bases (similarity 0.83)
• Easier access to bases makes US military intervention more likely (similarity 0.83)
• Overseas bases make war more likely by lowering its cost (similarity 0.83)
• Overseas bases lock the U.S. into a permanently militarized, less-secure society. (similarity 0.83)
• Postwar US military global reach exceeded that of any prior empire (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Overseas bases ease the waging of foreign wars and make war likelier #expands (0.65)
• The global base network is what enables the U.S. to wage distant wars #corroborates (0.60) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 108
• WWII permanently transformed US defense doctrine to require overseas deployments. #corroborates (0.50) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 54
• US overseas bases extend an ancient imperial strategy of encircling domination #qualifies (0.45) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 104