Text 2388, 34 rader
Skriven 2010-01-03 12:33:00 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
   Kommentar till text 2359 av Bob Ackley (1:300/3)
Ärende: The Evil That Men Do
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Bob Ackley wrote to Robert Bashe on Saturday January 02 2010 at 05:04:

BA> *Why* does the US need to maintain those bases in Europe?  Any
BA> conceivable justification for them went away when the Russians moved
BA> out of Eastern Europe over a decade ago.

The Russian border still isn't that far away, nor have we seen a radical change
in the way the Russians do things. Teddy Roosevelt's "Speak softly, and carry a
big stick" still isn't bad advice nowadays... it's well to be prepared, since
then bad things may not happen at all. But easy pickings are easy pickings and
it's still not wise to be a "soft target" even today.

Still, my guess as to why the bases are kept - in agreement with the host
countries - is that they are rapid-response staging areas for the various
hotspots throughout the world. And of course, the host countries resist closing
the bases because of their economic importance to the local population.

However, there have been enough bases closed over the last 20 years - one
British and one German base in Datteln alone. You just don't hear much about
the closings in the States, because they are mainly local affairs.

BA> Same for the bases in Japan and FTM at Guantanamo.

Japan may bitch about Okinawa, but just wait until the Americans decide to pull
out and hear the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. Of course, the bases
in Japan are to monitor China, Korea and the rest of the far east.

As for Guantanamo, I think that may become a point of debate when the Castros
are gone forever.

Cheers, Bob

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