Want to end US global hegemony? Start with the military bases
Want to end US global hegemony? Start with the military bases
New episode out now
Appears in this episode
The United States has over 750 military bases, installations, and outposts across 80 countries in the world. For decades, Americans have been told that the bases were necessary to protect U.S. interests, defend our allies, and keep the liberal world order safe. After World War II and throughout the Cold War, those arguments resonated. But the Iron Curtain is gone and technology today makes it unnecessary to stage massive amounts of ordnance, planes, and servicemembers everywhere, all the time, to respond to potential security crises.
This week we talk to Lawfare managing editor Tyler McBrien about his recent article on how there seems to be a slow shift in thinking on this score, and the efforts by some to get the U.S. military out of their countries for good.
In the first segment, Kelley and Dan talk about last week's G7 meeting and the Biden administration's continued attempts to coerce and cajole Asian countries to get on board with its anti-China agenda.
More from Tyler McBrien:
Unsealed Surveillance Court Document Reveals 702 Misuse, Lawfare, 5/19
Why the U.S. Should Close Its Overseas Military Bases, Foreign Policy, 5/16
Biden Administration Issues Revised Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, Lawfare, 2/23
Want to end US global hegemony? Start with the military bases
I don't see a scintilla of evidence that foreign policy reporting has improved due to lessons learned from the Iraq or Russiagate disasters. Only an establishmentarian could possibly believe that it has. The reporting on the Nordstream pipeline sabotage has been non-existent or downright laughable. The Ukraine war coverage is nothing more than preposterous Ukrainian propaganda passed on by our intelligence agencies to the mainstream media. Jingoistic reportage targeting China is most definitely on the rise. It isn't intimidation that stops rank and file reporters from reporting the truth. It's careerism and government/social media collaborations to control information as revealed in the Twitter Files.