Foreign Bases

I confess to no longer knowing what this issue is about...

Yea, this seems like it needs more focus. What are you really trying to ask?

Why national security? Brian is talking about our image, not our security necessarily. Why limit it?

Should the U.S. have foreign military bases?

But the bases in "friendly" countries contribute to the theory that the U.S. is an imperialist country stationed in every corner of the world.

I think we should say "military bases in nondemocratic states," mirroring the evidence. There probably isn't an issue with those in "friendly" countries.

U.S. Foreign Affairs

by Alexander Cooley

Summary: As the Pentagon prepares to redeploy U.S. forces around the world, it should review its practice of setting up bases in nondemocratic states. Although defense officials claim that having U.S. footholds in repressive countries offers important strategic advantages, the practice rarely helps promote liberalization in host states and sometimes even endangers U.S. security.

issue prior to revisions:

issue discarded

this issue has already been proposed here.  this issue should be discarded.

This question is really asking whether or not the US military is used wisely, or to its greatest capacity. Do people think it's a good idea to make the question a little broader to encompass this deeper meaning, or should we leave it as is, with sufficient and all the other stuff people have already mentioned.