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“US has unprecedented imperial military presence in the world”
Published: 31 October, 2010, 02:15
Edited: 01 November, 2010, 06:46
The American military presence in the world is global, blogger and author Tom Engelhardt told RT.
“The Pentagon usually admits yearly to about 800 military bases or sites from macro to micro, but in their account they do not include anything in war zones,” he said. “It is particularly strange because bases traditionally more or less were the way you kept colonies, but for us the bases are actually the thing.”
“The US military now has a kind of secret military inside it and those are the special operations forces which have been incredibly beefed up and taken over certain activities that once were more CIA-type activities in the Bush and now Obama period… They are stationed now in 75 countries,” added Engelhardt. “There are only 192 countries in the UN – I think that is the latest figure – so you are talking about somewhere upwards of 40 percent just for special operations forces. It is a lot.”
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9 comments
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I guess we have all these bases because now we have an "invisible enemy." Or is he?? Next time you brush your teeth. look in the Mirror and tell me if he is indeed invisible! This goes for people on either side of the curtain!
Meslin, what is your view of De Gaulle's role of the French colonisation of Africa and deaths of 2M Algerians? Have seen the Battle of Algiers? Did the French ever admitted their crimes against the brown and black people of Asia and Africa? I am happy the Mr. Putin is not Mr. de Gaulle! OK, do know that Putin ordered rough stuff in the Caucasus but Russia paid these crimes with huge blood money and Russian people support the payment of blood money in exchange for peace and security for the Great Russia. Has France ever paid "blood money" or even an empty apology for killing millions of the Africans before after WWII? France has never paid for its shameful enslavement of Africa. So, perhaps we need to start the historical analysis closer to the French shores before lecturing to the Americans. As for Mr. Putin, he is serving Russia very well.
Meslin, I entirely agree that big money eventually corrupts and debases everything around it. And not just big military money. I have a privileged view into the operation of aspects of the banking industry, and I am both disgusted with the sheer greed and irresponsibility that I see there, while at the same time recognising that modern society cannot exist without a strong banking sector. But once a strong banking sector emerges it is almost impossible to keep it honest, let alone communally responsible. I will be the first to admit that I do not know what the solution is. But I can highlight lower level abuses and suggest solutions for these, and that is what I try to do.