"95 percent of all foreign military bases in the world are U.S. bases. In addition, [there are] 19 Naval air carriers (and 15 more planned), each as part of a Carrier Strike Group, composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft -- each of which can be considered a floating military base."
The military footprint of the United States shows it is the largest empire in world history. In our interview with historian Alfred McCoy, author of "In The Shadows of the American Century," he describes how some of the key characteristics of U.S. empire are secrecy and covert actions. These are some of the reasons why it is rare to ever hear U.S. empire discussed in the corporate media or by politicians. McCoy told us this was true for some other empires too, and that it is often not until the empire begins to falter that their existence becomes part of the political dialogue.
Strategies for Closing U.S. Foreign Military Bases
David Vine described an unprecedented opportunity to close bases abroad. To do so we need to build a bigger movement. We also need to elevate the national dialogue about U.S. empire and develop a national consensus to end it.
Vine pointed to Donald Trump's campaign rhetoric about pulling back from U.S. involvement abroad and focusing on the necessities at home as indicative of the mood of the country. In fact, a recent survey found that "78 percent of Democrats, 64.5 percent of Republicans, and 68.8 percent of independents supported restraining military action overseas."
McCoy argued that after the globalization of President Barack Obama, which included the Asian Pivot and efforts to pass major trade agreements, in particular the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), created a backlash desire to focus on "America First." Both trade agreements, the TPP and TTIP, failed as a result of a political shift in the country, in part created by grass-roots movements.
McCoy describes Obama as one of three "Grandmasters of the Great Game" (the other two being Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Carter's National Security Adviser, and Elihu Root, former Secretary of War and Secretary of State at the beginning of the 20th Century) who excelled in being strategic on behalf of U.S. empire. In addition to trade agreements and the Asian Pivot, Obama built on the intelligence apparatus of the George W. Bush era. Even though Obama was a "grandmaster," he did not slow the weakening of U.S. empire. McCoy sees the inability to account for the unpredictable complexities of U.S. and global political developments as a common weakness of empire strategists.
The conference was divided into regions of the world (with the exception of one session on the impact of military bases on the environment and health). There will be reports and videos published on each section of the conference on the No Foreign Bases webpage. One common denominator around the world is opposition to U.S. military bases. According to the Unity Statement of the coalition:
"Many individual national coalitions -- for example, Okinawa, Italy, Jeju Island Korea, Diego Garcia, Cyprus, Greece, and Germany -- are demanding closure of bases on their territory. The base that the U.S. has illegally occupied the longest, for over a century, is Guanta'namo Bay, whose existence constitutes an imposition of the empire and a violation of international law. Since 1959 the government and people of Cuba have demanded that the government of the U.S. return the Guanta'namo territory to Cuba."
One important strategy for success is for U.S. activists to work in cooperation with people around the world who want U.S. military bases to be closed and for the U.S. military to leave their country. Attendees at the conference had traveled to South Korea, Okinawa and other places to protest in solidarity with U.S. activists.
Another strategy that many in the conference urged was the need for education about U.S. imperialism and to tie U.S. militarism abroad with militarized police at home. Similarly, the reality of the U.S. military focusing on black and brown countries abroad highlights a white supremacy philosophy that infects foreign policy and domestic policy. Members of the No U.S. Foreign Bases coalition also engage in domestic efforts for racial and environmental justice.
Further, the no bases coalition highlights the environmental and health damage caused by foreign and domestic military bases. As the Unity Statement notes, "military bases are the largest users of fossil fuel in the world, heavily contributing to environmental degradation." Pat Elder and David Swanson described the degradation in and around the Potomac River, writing:
"The Pentagon's impact on the river on whose bank it sits is not simply the diffuse impact of global warming and rising oceans contributed to by the U.S. military's massive oil consumption. The U.S. military also directly poisons the Potomac River in more ways than almost anyone would imagine."
People can find information about the environmental damage being done by the military in their community on the Bombs in Your Backward webpage. World Beyond War held a conference on War and the Environment in 2017. You can view video and summaries from the conference on their site.
Next Steps
The conference attendees decided on some next steps. A national day of action against foreign military bases is being planned for Feb. 23, the anniversary of the U.S. seizing Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, through a "perpetual lease" that began in 1903. Activists are encouraged to plan local actions. If you plan an event, contact info@popularresistance.org and we'll post it on the events page. The demands will include closing the base and prison in Guantanamo, returning the land to Cuba and ending the U.S. blockade.
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