U.S. basing favors despotic states over democratic ones

Evidence

Indeed, despite rhetoric about spreading democracy, the government’s track record shows a clear preference for bases in undemocratic and often despotic states such as Qatar and Bahrain. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 33

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: This cuts against stated U.S. foreign-policy rhetoric; a notable counterintuitive claim worth weighing against counterexamples (bases in democratic allies like Germany and Japan).
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 33
• XREF: connects to: US policy in the MENA region consistently favored its geopolitical interests over democratic outcomes — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 367; Imperial alignment outweighs democratic conduct in US labeling of leaders