Smithsonian Map Shows US Military Operating in More Than 40%

[drbrumley]

Of World’s Countries.

Smithsonian Magazine this month published a stunning map detailing just how expansive the post-9/11 "war on terror" has become, demonstrating that contrary to the common assumption that it's "winding down" more than 17 years later, it actually continues to grow and has now spread to more than 40% of the world's countries.

This includes American military and support personnel engaged in ongoing missions in 80 nations on six continents, according to Brown University’s Costs of War Project at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, which has recently calculated that since 2001 the US has spent $5,900,000,000,000 on war, mostly in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Yemen — where US military operations have become more or less permanent, with no consideration of ending them under any circumstances.

 

[ok doser]

it's who we are :idunno:

and it's been effective - at least in preventing any further instances of european/colonialist wars

that may all end with a resurgent russia

 

[The Berean]

Why does America still have military bases in Japan, South Korea, and Germany?

 

[ok doser]

Why does America still have military bases in Japan, South Korea, and Germany?

Japan and South korea - tensions in taiwan, naval staging areas for operations in ME

Germany - russia - it's still russia

and building native armies in western europe to act as counter balance to the russian bear has not worked out very well, historically



germany also serves as a staging area for land forces on the way to the ME

 

[The Berean]

Japan and South korea - tensions in taiwan, staging area for operation in ME

Germany - russia - it's still russia

and building native armies in western europe to act as counter balance to the russian bear has worked out very well, historically



germany also serves as a staging area on the way to the ME

Japan, South Korea, and Germany cannot defend themselves? How can they ever become strong militarily if they never have to build up their armed forces? They're like the teenagers that never move out of mommy's basement and never learn to take care of themselves. Shoot, even fictional Japan is more powerful than real Japan. :rotfl:

 

[ok doser]

Japan, South Korea, and Germany cannot defend themselves? How can they ever become strong militarily if they never have to build up their armed forces? They're like the teenagers that never move out of mommy's basement and never learn to take care of themselves.

you caught my post before i edited it to make more sense

we don't want Japan to have a strong military, we don't want Germany to have a strong military

when they've had strong militaries in the past, they've used them in ways we'd rather not see repeated

 

[The Berean]

you caught my post before i edited it to make more sense

we don't want Japan to have a strong military, we don't want Germany to have a strong military

when they've had strong militaries in the past, they've used them in ways we'd rather not see repeated

Well, that's in the past. Japan has a been a very capitalist society since WW II. They are a strong US ally and it is in their best interest to remain so. Becoming an enemy of the US would be bad for Japanese business. I doubt they would revert to a feudal system and suddenly become an imperialist nation. Besides England and France have strong militaries don't they? :idunno: Western Europe is a lost cause IMO. The turning away from their Christian heritage and embracing secularism and feminism has doomed them.

 

[drbrumley]

Why does America still have military bases in Japan, South Korea, and Germany?

Because we are an Empire.....

My good friends here seem ok with it, I do not...

 

[ok doser]

somebody has to be :idunno:

would you rather be a colonialist or a colony?

 

[drbrumley]

somebody has to be :idunno:

Why?

 

[ok doser]

let me rephrase that

somebody is going to be

if we turned totally isolationist, russia would move back into central europe, nork would overrun sork, china would take back taiwan, iran would expand in their backyard, etc

then russia would overrun iran and take all their gains and china would ... not sure whether china would take korea - china's kind of hard to read wrt expansionist tendencies

the world economy would collapse

and God only knows what would happen in south and central america

 

[Crucifer]

and it's been effective

Spending 600 billion a year on military while the country's interior suffers is ridiculous no matter how much patriotic glitter you sprinkle on it

 

[The Berean]

let me rephrase that

somebody is going to be

if we turned totally isolationist, russia would move back into central europe, nork would overrun sork, china would take back taiwan, iran would expand in their backyard, etc

then russia would overrun iran and take all their gains and china would ... not sure whether china would take korea - china's kind of hard to read wrt expansionist tendencies

the world economy would collapse

and God only knows what would happen in south and central america

I don't get how North Korea would overrun South Korea? North Korea can't even feed their people and have old decrepit technology. Also, South Korea has the money to buy the best military hardware. South Korea has F35-A jet fighters while North Korea has literally Cold War era Russian Mig-21's. LOL.

 

[ok doser]

Spending 600 billion a year on military while the country's interior suffers is ridiculous no matter how much patriotic glitter you sprinkle on it

any idea what the allies spent to win ww2, in terms of gdp?

600 billion is pocket change

 

[ok doser]

I don't get how North Korea would overrun South Korea? North Korea can't even feed their people and have old decrepit technology.

they've spent everything on their military, especially artillery

they could totally wipe south korea off the map with their artillery

Also, South Korea has the money to buy the best military hardware.

but they don't have a trained military, or the will to create one

South Korea has F35-A jet fighters while North Korea has literally Cold War era Russian Mig-21's. LOL.

its all about artillery - about the only thing we have that could stop their artillery is nukes

 

[Crucifer]

600 billion is pocket change

600 billion a year

It's not pocket change, this country struggles more than it needs to in fixing it's interior and commonwealth interests because the military is a giant black hole.

 

[ok doser]

600 billion a year

right, pocket change compared to what the allies spent last time

cheap insurance

 

[ok doser]

In 1945 alone, the US spent 45% of GDP on the war.

Currently, we spend about 3% of GDP on the military


England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany - all of them ended the war totally bankrupt, with the unexpected consequence (and hugely destabilizing effect - of rendering them largely unable to control their colonial possessions - hence, vietnam, the middle east, the far east, africa - we're still paying for that horrible consequence with no end in sight

well, that's not true - a lot of that trouble will be resolved when we move into a post-petroleum energy paradigm

and we've already demonstrated an inability to care about brown people killing each other as long as it doesn't impact oil supplies :idunno:

 

[The Berean]

they've spent everything on their military, especially artillery

they could totally wipe south korea off the map with their artillery



but they don't have a trained military, or the will to create one



its all about artillery - about the only thing we have that could stop their artillery is nukes

Is artillery really the key? Along with air superiority South Korea's Super K2 Black Panther tanks would literally steamroll over North Korea's ancient Cold War era tanks.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/b...nther-tank-north-koreas-worst-nightmare-37202

 

[ok doser]

artillery and ground forces (and it's important to distinguish between field artillery and mobile artillery, as you point out)

about 1 million active military personnel and an additional 5 million reserves

it would be difficult to see the South Koreans develop the will to match that internally