The forward strategy detached US security from national territory
Evidence
The policy underlying this deeply held belief is known as the “forward strategy.” These two words, this wonky term of art, have had profound implications. Cold War policy held that the United States should maintain large concentrations of military forces and bases as close as possible to the Soviet Union, in order to hem in and “contain” supposed Soviet expansionism. Suddenly, as the historian George Stambuk explains, “the security of the United States, in the minds of policy-makers, lost much of its former inseparability from the concept of the territory of the United States.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 23
Categorization
- DEFINE: Defines the ‘forward strategy’ as the operational term behind the belief that bases near rivals contain them.
- corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 23
- XREF: connects to: US overseas bases extend an ancient imperial strategy of encircling domination; Being bypassed by a distant battle can produce a false sense of security — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 421; U.S. officials collaborated with murderous regimes to secure base access overseas. (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- US overseas bases extend an ancient imperial strategy of encircling domination
#corroborates(0.70) - Overseas bases can increase global danger rather than security
#expands(0.60) - Postwar US power substituted a global base network for direct colonial control
#exemplifies(0.60) — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 96 - Being bypassed by a distant battle can produce a false sense of security
#qualifies(0.50) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 421 - U.S. officials collaborated with murderous regimes to secure base access overseas.
#expands(0.50)