The Pentagon lobbied São Tomé’s president to host a military support port

Evidence

Fradique de Menezes, the president of São Tomé at the time, told Portuguese television that he “received a call from the Pentagon to tell me that the issue [was] being studied.” What he described sounded a lot like a lily pad: “It is not really a military base on our territory, but rather a support port for aircraft, warships, and patrol ships.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1002

Categorization

• CANDY: A Pentagon official cold-calling the president of one of the world’s smallest countries to pitch a ‘lily pad’ is a memorable anecdote.