...That policy which pretends to aspire to peace but unerringly generates war, the policy of continual preparation for war, the policy of meddlesome interventionism. There was no corner of the known world where some interest was not alleged to be in danger or under actual attack. If the interests were not Roman, they were those of Rome’s allies; and if Rome had no allies, then allies would be invented. When it was utterly impossible to contrive such an interest — why, then it was the national honor that had been insulted. The fight was always invested with an aura of legality. Rome was always being attacked by evil-minded neighbors, always fighting for a breathing space. The whole world was pervaded by a host of enemies, and it was manifestly Rome’s duty to guard against their indubitably aggressive designs
EDIT: Actually, I think most of these are troops deployed on United Nations peacekeeping assignments. Thats the only way Japan makes sense. Nevermind, this is US troop deployments.
I don’t understand why there are foreign military bases in other countries. Do they serve a purpose other than imperialism? Do they act like embassies for visitors? It just seems very odd to me.
So you see, as someone with a heart and soul I view using the military for purposes such as securing minerals and raw materials as a huge waste and downright stupid. Wouldn’t diplomats and form of “Soft Power” be better suited for this area?
When it comes to what military bases are used for in other parts of the world, specifically for preparing war against China and escalations with Russia, I have no real alternative except maybe just don’t do that. Take your troops back home and leave everyone alone. It’s naive and maybe juvenile but so is putting basses around the world to provoke violence.
Those countries let the US have their bases and troops there. It’s an agreeement. If it is a threat then those countries make their own mistakes for trusting the US
Whereas Russian actually invaded Ukraine, killed and raped innocent people, caused the whole world to suffer. Russia will pay for its crime
The people of Ryukyu (Okinawa), which are already occupied once by Japan, do not want the US there. This is a regular subject of protests in the region, and the single largest defining aspect of politics. The current governor of Okinawa is staunchly against the US occupation of his territory because they cause endless hardship for the locals. US soldiers continue to kill and rape innocent people here on a regular basis.
You will be hard-pressed to find people here that are excited about the US military bases, outside the US lapdogs in the government. If we held a referendum on the topic tomorrow, it would probably be the biggest voter turnout Japan has ever seen.
South Korea is basically the same, albeit with even more sexual assaults than we have to deal with.
In addition to what others have already said, this line in particular is complete bullshit. The vast majority of the world doesn't care about Ukraine in any way beyond "war is bad," and indeed a large chunk of the global south has expressed that the war is entirely the West's fault for provoking Russia constantly since the collapse of the USSR. The only people suffering from the war are in Ukraine, Russia, or any of a number of European nations that were strong-armed into shutting off their access to Russian fossil fuels by the US so American oil companies could dominate the energy markets in that region of the world at the expense of workers who saw their utility bills go up 4x overnight.