If the first 14-plus years of what used to be known as the “Global War onFlickr/Ghislain Mary Terrorism” weren’t enough for you, take heart:the Pentagon has proposed a plan that would “build up a string of military bases in Africa, Southwest Asia and the Middle East” to battle ISIS and its affiliates in any number of countries the US is not officially at war with.
As reported by the New York Times:
The network of bases would serve as hubs for Special Operations troops and intelligence operatives who would conduct counterterrorism missions for the foreseeable future. The plan would all but ensure what Pentagon officials call an “enduring” American military presence in some of the world’s most volatile regions.
Details are vague and thus far the White House has not commented on the plan, but officials told the Times the bases could be manned by anywhere from 500 to 5,000 US troops at a time. They also claim that upgrading existing bases and establishing new hubs in the Middle East and Africa would only cost in the “low millions of dollars.”
Hardly anything to do with the military runs in the “low millions of dollars,” and as the Times notes, there will very likely be expenditures beyond just supplying our own bases:
Career diplomats have long warned about the creeping militarization of American foreign policy as the Pentagon has forged new relationships with foreign governments eager for military aid.
It’s no secret that the US and Russia are at odds over a number issues, not least of which are Russia’s support of the Assad regime in Syria and the bombing of US-backed Syrian rebel groups.
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