U.S. lily pads turn allied militaries into proxy adjuncts that do the fighting

Evidence

One result is the growing incorporation of foreign military leaders and foreign militaries into the U.S. military structure. Military officials talk in terms of “interoperability,” but the hierarchical nature of these relationships is clear enough. Foreign militaries eventually become, if not proxy armies, at least functional adjuncts or extensions of the U.S. military. Indeed, the aim is increasingly to get “them” to do most of the fighting, and lily pads have become one of several tools to push other militaries in that direction. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 1012