Another Fortress Rising in America's Ring of Iron

[Orwellian_Ghost]

The U.S. Empire of Bases — at $102 billion a year already the world’s costliest military enterprise — just got a good deal more expensive. As a start, on May 27th, we learned that the State Department will build a new "embassy" in Islamabad, Pakistan, which at $736 million will be the second priciest ever constructed, only $4 million less, if cost overruns don’t occur, than the Vatican-City-sized one the Bush administration put up in Baghdad...

Whatever the costs turn out to be, they will not be included in our already bloated military budget, even though none of these structures is designed to be a true embassy — a place, that is, where local people come for visas and American officials represent the commercial and diplomatic interests of their country. Instead these so-called embassies will actually be walled compounds, akin to medieval fortresses, where American spies, soldiers, intelligence officials, and diplomats try to keep an eye on hostile populations in a region at war. One can predict with certainty that they will house a large contingent of Marines and include roof-top helicopter pads for quick get-aways.

And what is being done about those military bases anyway — now close to 800 of them dotted across the globe in other people’s countries? Even as Congress and the Obama administration wrangle over the cost of bank bailouts, a new health plan, pollution controls, and other much needed domestic expenditures, no one suggests that closing some of these unpopular, expensive imperial enclaves might be a good way to save some money.

Instead, they are evidently about to become even more expensive. On June 23rd, we learned that Kyrgyzstan, the former Central Asian Soviet Republic which, back in February 2009, announced that it was going to kick the U.S. military out of Manas Air Base (used since 2001 as a staging area for the Afghan War), has been persuaded to let us stay. But here’s the catch: In return for doing us that favor, the annual rent Washington pays for use of the base will more than triple from $17.4 million to $60 million, with millions more to go into promised improvements in airport facilities and other financial sweeteners. All this because the Obama administration, having committed itself to a widening war in the region, is convinced it needs this base to store and trans-ship supplies to Afghanistan.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175091/chalmers_johnson_baseless_expenditures

[Octafish]

1. Empires Architecture

Location. Location. Location.

Support your War Party.
That's an order.

[MadHound]

2. And the march for empire continues unabated,

No matter which party is in power.

Hmm, what's that difference again?

[maryf]

3. K&Rnt

[mmonk]

4. We must cut entitlements. They are a waste of money.

They need to be privatized. The poor and disabled are such because they are lazy and no count and pick our pockets. We must remain strong on defense and never cut military spending and anyone who thinks so is a traitor and soft on "terrorism".

Obligatory sarcasm tag:
:sarcasm:

[bertman]

5. I'm shocked!! How could this possibly happen with Democrats in charge??

Recommend.

[truth2power]

8. Why, one would almost think there's not

a dime's worth of difference between the parties.

Not that I would ever believe that, of course. :eyes:

[bvar22]

6. While American children go to bed homeless & hungry,...

...and thousands of Americans die from lack of Health Care, no expense is spared for the construction of our grotesque Imperial Palaces.

BTW, this is one of the indicators of a dying Empire in its last stages.

[truth2power]

7. Dying empire? Good! It should just go ahead and die already, and maybe

we can construct a more humane society from the rubble. Maybe.