Terrorist attacks since 1996 drove consolidation into larger fortified bases.

Evidence

A move to consolidate troops at a smaller collection of very large bases had actually been under way for several years, thanks in part to a string of attacks beginning in 1996 that hit the Khobar Towers complex in Saudi Arabia, embassies in East Africa, and the USS Cole. In response, the military began closing small bases, bases in congested urban areas vulnerable to truck bombs, and other hard-to-protect facilities. The remaining Little Americas began growing larger, with taller walls, broader boundaries, and tighter security. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 135

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to security-threat-driven infrastructure change patterns that also appear in urban planning literature. — connects to: War on Terror strengthened rather than replaced the military industrial complex — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 230; Bases surrounding a rival power provoke dangerous escalation
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 135

Broader Connections

• Bases surrounding a rival power provoke dangerous escalation #complicates (0.40)
• War on Terror strengthened rather than replaced the military industrial complex #expands (0.35) — Davis, Angela Y, Are Prisons Obsolete, 230