david vine overseas bases webinar 21 mar 2013 web
DESCRIPTION
Unraveling the Pentagon's Foreign Presence - this slide show by Prof. David Vine of American University presented as webinar sponsored by Fellowship of Reconciliation (forusa.org/militarism-watch) March 22, 2013. Includes extensive data on the costs of US bases, as well as sources for more information.TRANSCRIPT
UNRAVELING THE PENTAGON'S FOREIGN PRESENCE
David Vine, American [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Note: This PowerPoint presentation is intended as an evolving and shared resource for learning about and researching foreign military bases. Apologies for the many omissions and errors surely contained below. Corrections, questions, additions, and suggestions can be sent to [email protected].
Thanks to John Lindsay-Poland, Catherine Lutz, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and my many other teachers and mentors in the world of bases.
-David, March 21, 2013
Source: David Vine, Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (Princeton University Press, 2011)
NEEDS UPDATING
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Panetta reassures Portugal on Azores Islands after U.S. downsizes decades-old base thereJanuary 15, 2013By Craig Whitlock
U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta listens to questions from journalists… (RAFAEL MARCHANTE/REUTERS )
LISBON — The Pentagon’s era of austerity is starting to pinch some remote corners of the globe, including a volcanic island in the mid-Atlantic.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Pentagon eyeing European base consolidationsMar 8, 2013Kate Brannen
With a shift in military strategy and the withdrawal of thousands of U.S. troops in Europe, the Pentagon is eyeing a smaller European footprint — a move that could pave the way for further base closures at home.
Before leaving office, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta directed senior Pentagon officials to launch a study of the U.S. military infrastructure in Europe with the goal of eliminating excess capacity.
OVERVIEW• The Basics about Bases
• Researching Financial Costs
• Researching Other Costs
• Some Research Principles and Key Resources
• Anti-Base Movements
• Putting Knowledge to Use
• Costs of War Project and Other Perspectives
• Q & A David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
costsofwar.org
Source: David Vine, Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (Princeton University Press, 2011)
NEEDS UPDATING
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Photo David Vine 2012
Ronald McDonald at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Scooby Doo at Naval Station Guantánamo Bay, Cuba?
Photo David Vine 2012
David Vine, American University [email protected]
World War I Chemical Weapons Testing Base Spring Valley, Washington, DC
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Army Corps of Engineers Munitions and Chemical Weapons Disposal Area, Spring Valley, Washington, DC
Not Diego Garcia (Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera)
Source: David Vine, Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (Princeton University Press, 2011)
Diego Garcia
AfghanistanIraq
AfghanistanIraq Iran
Camp Justice, Diego Garcia
Chagossian Children at School, circa 1955
~1,200 mi.
~1,200 mi.
~1,200 mi.
~1,200 mi.
Final Chagossian Expulsion Order from Diego Garcia (Memo from Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, U.S. Navy Archives, Washington, DC)
- http://www.dg.navy.mil/web/
Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia (Princeton University Press, 2009)
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• >1,000 Estimated Military “Base Sites” Abroad
760 "Base Sites Claimed by DOD outside 50 States & DC[Excludes Afghanistan, secret, other omitted sites]
• >5,500 Total Base Sites in US and Abroad DOD=5,211[Excludes Afghanistan, secret, other omitted sites]
• ≈ Number of Registered Hospitals in the US (5,724)
- Department of Defense, Base Structure Report 2012;Nick Turse, “The Pentagon's Planet of Bases,” TomDispatch.com, 2011
American Hospital Association, 2013
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• Germany = 232; Japan = 109; South Korea = 85; Italy = 59
• Afghanistan ~ 550 max.
• (Iraq = 505 max.)
- Department of Defense, Base Structure Report 2012; - Nick Turse 2012, 2011
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• What’s a “Base”? What’s a “Base Site”?
• 84% DOD Reported Sites = “Small Base Sites”
• “Small Base Sites” = Up to $915 million in Reported Value
• Luxembourg = 3 Base Sites; 65 Buildings
- Department of Defense, Base Structure Report 2012
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• 555,074 Buildings & Structures Occupied Worldwide Including 114,571 overseas
• 298,897 Buildings Occupying 2.3 Billion Sq. Ft. Worldwide
• That’s About Four Times the Space of Walmart
- Department of Defense, Base Structure Report 2012
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• Troop Presence in 166 Countries [many quite small]See: Department of Defense, “Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A),” report, Washington, DC, December 31, 2011.
• 11 Navy Aircraft Carriers
• Growing Presence in Space
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
WHAT’S IT ALL COST?
David Vine, American University [email protected]
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKCOSTS
• $22.1 Billion (“Overseas Cost Summary”)Department of Defense, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates,” Washington, DC, February 2013, p. 199-202.
• $250 Billion (Dancs) Anita Dancs, “The Cost of the Global U.S. Military Presence,” Foreign Policy in Focus, report, July 3, 2009.
• $170 Billion (Vine)David Vine, “Picking Up a $170 Billion Tab: How U.S. Taxpayers Are Paying the Pentagon to Occupy the Planet,” TomDispatch.com, December 11, 2012. http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175627/
$169,963,153,283
- David Vine, “Picking Up a $170 Billion Tab: How U.S. Taxpayers Are Paying the Pentagon to Occupy the Planet,” TomDispatch.com, December 11, 2012. http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175627/
- For full-length article, table of calculations (below): www.davidvine.net
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
Net “Rent” Payments and NATO Contributions (Funds from Other Nations Subtracted*) 6,850,087,520
Counternarcotics, Humanitarian, and Environmental Programs 681,420,000
Classified Programs, Military Intelligence, and CIA Paramilitary Activities 13,558,891,583
War Costs (Personnel, Operations & Maintenance, Military Construction, Health Care, 18% of State Department Aid as “Rent,” Other)
104,896,568,660
GRAND TOTAL $169,963,153,283David Vine, American University
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
DOD, Office of the Secretary of Defense, “Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 President’s Budget, Contingency Operations (Base Budget),” February 2012.
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
• U.S. Census Bureau, “Puerto Rico and the Island Areas,” in Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012, (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 2012), 815-22.
• “One Guam Buildup”; Guam Realignment Annual Report, 2012; Bureau of
Statistics and Plans, “Guam’s Facts & Figures at a Glance,” Office of the Governor, Hagatna, 2011, available at http://www.bsp.guam.gov/images/stories/pip/guamfacts_2011.pdf.
• www.statemaster.com (2004 data) for other territories.
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
• Operations and Maintenance Costs (O&M): Department of Defense, “Financial Summary Tables, Department of Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 2013,” Washington, DC, February 2012, FAD 792, 2.
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
• Defense Health Program: http://comptroller.defense.gov/defbudget/fy2013/budget_justification/pdfs/09_Defense_Health_Program/VOL_II/Vol_II-Sec_3I_R-2_RDTE_Program_Element_0605013_DHP_PB13.pdf
• Defense-Wide Spending: Department of Defense, “Financial Summary Tables, Department of Defense Budget for Fiscal Year 2013,” Washington, DC, February 2012, 10.
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
Net “Rent” Payments and NATO Contributions (Funds from Other Nations Subtracted*) 6,850,087,520
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
• Burdensharing and Host Nation Support: Office of Management and Budget, “The Budget for Fiscal Year 2013,” Washington, DC, February 2012, 277, 324.
• On “Rent”: Kent Calder, Embattled Garrisons; James Blaker, United States Overseas Basing (full citations below).
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
Net “Rent” Payments and NATO Contributions (Funds from Other Nations Subtracted*) 6,850,087,520
Counternarcotics, Humanitarian, and Environmental Programs 681,420,000
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
• Counternarcotics and Humanitarian Programs: Department of Defense, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates,” Washington, DC, February 2013, pp. 59, 244.
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
Net “Rent” Payments and NATO Contributions (Funds from Other Nations Subtracted*) 6,850,087,520
Counternarcotics, Humanitarian, and Environmental Programs 681,420,000
Classified Programs, Military Intelligence, and CIA Paramilitary Activities 13,558,891,583
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
CLASSIFIED, CIA, OTHER BLACK BUDGETS
• Robert Beckhusen and Noah Shachtman, “See for Yourself: The Pentagon’s $51 Billion ‘Black’ Budget,” Wired 15 February 2012, http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/02/pentagons-black-budget/
• Robert Beckhusen and Noah Shachtman, “2013 DOD Black Budget,” spreadsheet, 21 February 2012, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Anb82yNPJZc0dDVadWM1c0xTZXlfVjRGZUlRQ3pja0E#gid=3.
• Federation of American Scientists, “Intelligence Budget Data,” available at http://www.fas.org/irp/budget/index.html
David Vine, American University [email protected]
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
Net “Rent” Payments and NATO Contributions (Funds from Other Nations Subtracted*) 6,850,087,520
Counternarcotics, Humanitarian, and Environmental Programs 681,420,000
Classified Programs, Military Intelligence, and CIA Paramilitary Activities 13,558,891,583
War Costs (Personnel, Operations & Maintenance, Military Construction, Health Care, 18% of State Department Aid as “Rent,” Other)
104,896,568,660
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
WAR COSTS• Costs of War Project: www.costsofwar.org
• Amy Belasco, “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” Congressional Research Service, March 29, 2011, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
• Basic Pay: # Troops x $125,000/troop/year (widely used estimate)
• DOD, “Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country (309A),” report, Washington, DC, 31 December 2011.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
OMITTED SPENDING CATEGORY TOTAL
Pentagon “Overseas Cost Summary” Total $22,148,900,000
Missing Countries 435,404,000
Territories,* Possessions, and Pacific Island Nations 3,621,220,000
Naval Vessels and Personnel outside U.S. Waters; Prepositioned Ships and Stocks; Other Sealift, Airlift, and Mobilization
5,244,562,000
Health Care, Military and Family Housing Construction, Exchange* and Postal Service Subsidies
12,526,099,520
Net “Rent” Payments and NATO Contributions (Funds from Other Nations Subtracted*) 6,850,087,520
Counternarcotics, Humanitarian, and Environmental Programs 681,420,000
Classified Programs, Military Intelligence, and CIA Paramilitary Activities 13,558,891,583
War Costs (Personnel, Operations & Maintenance, Military Construction, Health Care, 18% of State Department Aid as “Rent,” Other)
104,896,568,660
GRAND TOTAL $169,963,153,283David Vine, American University
Calculating the Costs of U.S. Military Bases and U.S. Military Presence AbroadAll data FY2012 unless indicated by * where some data from 2004, 2008, 2011.
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKUNCOUNTED COSTS
• Pentagon Offices, Embassies, Other Government Agencies Supporting Bases, Troops Overseas
• U.S. Training Facilities, Depots, Hospitals, Cemeteries
• Currency Exchange Costs
• Lawyers’ Fees and Lawsuit Damages Paid
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKUNCOUNTED COSTS
• Temporary Duty Assignments (TDY) Abroad Salaries
• U.S.-based Troops in Exercises Overseas
• NASA Military Functions Abroad
• Spaced-based Weapons
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKUNCOUNTED COSTS
• Recruiting Costs to Staff Bases Abroad
• Interest on Debt Attributable to Past Overseas Costs
• Veterans Administration and Other Retirement Spending for Military Abroad
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKNON-BUDGETARY COSTS
TO THE U.S.ECONOMY
• Income Foregone by Spouses, Dependents Not Working Overseas
• Military Personnel Salaries, Rent Spent Abroad & Other “Spillover Costs” Not Benefitting the U.S. Economy
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKTRADE-OFFS/
OPPORTUNITY COSTS
• Military Spending Creates Fewer Jobs per $1 billion than Education, Health Care, Energy Efficiency
David Vine, American University [email protected]
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKTRADE-OFFS/
OPPORTUNITY COSTS
• Military Spending Creates Fewer Jobs per $1 billion than Education, Health Care, Energy Efficiency
• Military Spending Don’t Boost Long-run Productivity Like Infrastructure and Other Investments
• For Trade-Offs: National Priorities Project http://costofwar.com/tradeoffs/state/US/program/12/tradeoff/0
http://nationalpriorities.org/en/interactive-data/trade-offs/
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
WHAT ARE THE OTHER COSTS?
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKOTHER COSTS
• Displacement and Dispossession
• Environmental
• Health
• Local Economic (e.g., Damage to Economies, “Burden Sharing” Payments, Lawsuits)
• Political (e.g., Democracy, Sovereignty, Human Rights)
• Crimes
THE US GLOBAL BASE NETWORKOTHER COSTS
• Exploitation and Gender Violence (e.g., Exploitative Sex Work Industries, Trafficking, Violence against Women)
• Labor Exploitation (Bases as places of labor)
• Rising Hostility and Anti-Americanism
• Military Personnel and Family Members (e.g., Family Separation, Mental Health, Substance Abuse, Divorce, Sexual Assault, Suicide)
• War and Its Human Toll (e.g., Death, Injury, Displacement)
SOME RESEARCH PRINCIPLES AND KEY RESOURCES
David Vine, American University [email protected]
SOME RESEARCH PRINCIPLES
• Be Accurate
• Talk to Locals, Visit Bases and Base Communities
• Work Collaboratively
• Listen Carefully to Everyone; Ignore No One
• Where Are the Women?
David Vine, American University [email protected]
SOME RESEARCH PRINCIPLES• Be an Investigative Journalist
(Don’t give up until you get the answers.)
• Ask the Military Questions
(Yours are legitimate & deserve answers.)
• Call
(Don’t be shy. Get your questions answered.)
• Knock on Doors
(Go in person to get questions answered.)
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY RESEARCH RESOURCES• Government Sources
• Research Tools
• Websites
• Key Books and Articles
• Maps
• Films and Photography
David Vine, American University [email protected]
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• Government Accountability Office (GAO)
• Congressional Research Service (CRS)
• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)
• Congressional Committees (esp. House and Senate Armed Services Committees)
• Department of Defense Appropriations and Authorization Bills (esp., Military Construction)
David Vine, American University [email protected]
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• “Base Structure Reports”
DOD, published annually online ~ Oct.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Base Structure Report 2012
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• “Base Structure Reports”
DOD, published annually online ~ Oct.
• “Overseas Cost Summary”Department of Defense, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates,” Washington, DC, February 2013, p. 199-202. [Mandated annually by Congress]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• “Base Structure Reports”
DOD, published annually online ~ Oct.
• “Overseas Cost Summary”Department of Defense, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates,” Washington, DC, February 2013, p. 199-202. [Mandated annually by Congress]
• DOD, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates.” [Annual]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
“Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates”
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• “Base Structure Reports”
DOD, published annually online ~ Oct.
• “Overseas Cost Summary”Department of Defense, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates,” Washington, DC, February 2013, p. 199-202. [Mandated annually by Congress]
• DOD, “Operations and Maintenance Overview Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates,” February 2012. [Annual]
• “The Green Book” [Annual]DOD, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), “National Defense Budget Estimates for FY 2013,” March 2012.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• DOD, “Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area
and by Country (309A),” report, Washington, DC, 31 December 2011. [Updated sporadically.]
• DOD, Office of the Secretary of Defense, “Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 President’s Budget, Contingency Operations (Base Budget),” February 2012. [Annual]
• Combatant Commands’ Budgets: E.g., “Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Estimates, United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM),” February 2012. [Annual]
• Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, “Transforming Wartime Contracting: Controlling Costs, Reducing Risks,” final report, August 2011. www.wartimecontracting.gov
David Vine, American University [email protected]
GOVERNMENT SOURCES• Amy Belasco, “The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War
on Terror Operations Since 9/11,” Congressional Research Service, March 29, 2011, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL33110.pdf
• Department of State, “Congressional Budget Justification: Foreign Assistance Summary Tables Fiscal Year 2013,” 2012. [Annual]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
RESEARCH TOOLS• DOD Websites: www.defense.gov
• DOD Contracts: www.defense.gov/contracts
Federal Business Opportunities: https://www.fbo.gov/
• DOD Publications: E.g., Diálogo, Engineering in Europe
• Base Websites: E.g., www.ramstein.af.mil
• Base Public Affairs Offices
David Vine, American University [email protected]
RESEARCH TOOLS• Google Alerts: E.g., “military bases,” “[base name]”
• Google Images, Flickr: Search by base name
• YouTube: Search by base name
• Military Conferences: E.g., Association of the United States Army (AUSA), Marine Military Expos
• National Security Archive: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/
David Vine, American University [email protected]
RESEARCH TOOLS• Digital National Security Archive: http://
nsarchive.chadwyck.com/marketing/index.jsp
• MuckRock: https://www.muckrock.com/
• Listservs: E.g., Center for Public Environmental Oversight (http://www.cpeo.org)
• Wikileaks: E.g., search by base, country, city name
David Vine, American University [email protected]
RESEARCH TOOLS• Offices of Members of Congress: Ask questions, they
can do research if prompted
• Databases for Military and Government Documents: e.g., EBSCO Military and Government; Government Printing Office Monthly Catalog
• Library of Congress: www.loc.gov
• National Archives and Armed Services’ Archives
David Vine, American University [email protected]
RESEARCH TOOLS• Stars and Stripes independent military newspaper:
Search by base, country name http://www.stripes.com/
• Public Opinion Survey Research: E.g., Rasmussen Reports, Gallop
• Experiential Learning: – Solidarity Tours – Ethnographic Research – Oral History Interviewing – Just Visiting Base Communities
David Vine, American University [email protected]
WEBSITES• Global Security: www.globalsecurity.org
• Contract Data: http://www.usaspending.gov/ Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation:
https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/
Federal Business Opportunities: https://www.fbo.gov/
• http://militarybases.com
• National Priorities Project: http://costofwar.com/ http://nationalpriorities.org/
David Vine, American University [email protected]
WEBSITES• Costs of War Project: www.costsofwar.org
• Militarism Watch, Fellowship of Reconciliation: http://forusa.org/groups/services/militarism-watch
• Women for Genuine Security: http://www.genuinesecurity.org
• American Friends Service Committee: http://afsc.org http://afsc.org/search/node/military%20bases
http://afsc.org/project/withdrawing-us-troops
David Vine, American University [email protected]
PRIMERS• Transnational Institute, “Outposts of Empire: The Case
against Foreign Military Bases,” Amsterdam, March 2007.
• American Friends Service Committee, “Ten Reasons Why U.S. Military Bases Must Go,” http://www.dmzhawaii.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/10reasons-en.pdf
• Wilbert van der Zeijden, “Foreign Military Bases and the Campaign to Close Them: A Beginner’s Guide,” http://www.tni.org/primer/foreign-military-bases-and-global-campaign-close-them
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• George Weller, Bases Overseas: An American Trusteeship in
Power (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1944).
• George Marion, Bases and Empire: A Chart of American Overseas Expansion (New York: Fairplay Publishers, 1948).
• Merlo J. Pusey, The U.S.A. Astride the Globe (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1971).
• United States, Congress, Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, Subcommittee on United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad, “United States Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad: Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate,” 91st Congress, Vols. I-II, 1971.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• Roland A. Paul, American Military Commitments Abroad (New
Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1973).
• Robert E. Harkavy, Bases Abroad: The Global Foreign Military Presence (Oxford: Oxford University Press/SIPRI, 1989).
• Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989).
• James R. Blaker, United States Overseas Basing: An Anatomy of the Dilemma (New York: Praeger, 1990).
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• Joseph Gerson and Bruce Birchard, eds., The Sun Never
Sets: Confronting the Network of Foreign U.S. Military Bases, (Boston: South End Press, 1991).
• Dan Cragg, Guide to Military Installations, 4th ed. (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1994).
• Monthly Review editors, “U.S. Military Bases and Empire," Monthly Review, March 2002, http://www.monthlyreview.org/0302editr.htm.
• Zoltan Grossman, “War and New U.S. Military Bases,” Counterpunch February 2-4, 2002, http://www.counterpunch.org/2002/02/02/war-and-new-us-military-bases/
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• Chalmers Johnson, The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism,
Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (New York: Metropolitan Books, 2004).
• Robert E. Harkavy, Strategic Basing and the Great Powers, 1200-2000 (London: Routledge, 2007).
• Mark Gillem, American Town: Building the Outposts of Empire (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2007).
• Kent E. Calder, Embattled Garrisons: Comparative Base Politics and American Globalism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007).
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• David S. Sorenson, Military Base Closure: A Reference
Handbook (Westport, CT: Praeger Security, 2007).
• Tom Engelhardt, “Baseless Considerations,” Tom Dispatch.com, November 5, 2007, http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174858
• Various authors, Mother Jones, “Mission Creep,” August 2008, http://www.motherjones.com/special-reports/2008/08/mission-creep
• Alexander Cooley, Base Politics: Democratic Change and the Politics of U.S. Military Installations Overseas (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008).
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• Catherine Lutz, ed., The Bases of Empire: The Global
Struggle against U.S. Military Posts (New York: New York University Press, 2009).
• Maria Höhn and Seungsook Moon, Over There: Living with the U.S. Military Empire from World War Two to the Present (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2010).
• Andrew Yeo, Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011).
• Nick Turse, “The Pentagon's Planet of Bases,” TomDispatch.com, January 9, 2011, http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175338/
David Vine, American University [email protected]
KEY BOOKS AND ARTICLES• John Lindsay-Poland, “Pentagon Building Bases in Central
America and Colombia,” Fellowship of Reconciliation, January 27, 2011, http://forusa.org/blogs/john-lindsay-poland/pentagon-building-bases-central-america-colombia/8445
• Nick Turse, “Afghanistan’s Base Bonanza: Total Tops Iraq at That War’s Height,” TomDispatch.com, 4 September 2012, http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175588/
• Others by Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt at TomDispatch.com.
• Articles by Walter Pincus, Washington Post columnist. David Vine, American University
MAPS(a small sample)
• Transnational Institute, “See the World’s Foreign Military Bases from Outer Space,” Google Earth file: http://www.tni.org/article/see-world%E2%80%99s-foreign-military-bases-outer-space
• Fellowship of Reconciliation, “Annotated Map of Military Construction in Latin America”
• Zoltan Grossman, “New U.S. Military Bases: Side Effects or Causes of War” (powerpoint)
• Military Bases in the Continental United States: http://www.nps.gov/nagpra/documents/basesmilitarymap.htm
David Vine, American University [email protected]
FILMS(a small sample)
• Standing Army
• Living Along the Fenceline
• Restrepo
• Fort Bliss
• Camp Victory Afghanistan
• Stealing a Nation
David Vine, American University [email protected]
ANTI-BASE MOVEMENTS(a small sample)
• Close the Base (Okinawa): http://closethebase.org/
• No Base Stories Korea: http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/
• Save Jeju: www.savejeju.org/ and www.savejejunow.org
• We Are Guahan (Guam): http://weareguahan.com/
• Coalición Colombia No Bases: http://colombianobases.org/nobases/
David Vine, American University [email protected]
ANTI-BASE MOVEMENTS(a small sample)
• No Dal Molin (Vicenza, Italy): www.nodalmolin.it/
• Chagos Refugees Group (Diego Garcia): http://www.chagosrefugeesgroup.net/
• UK Chagos Support Association (Diego Garcia): http://www.chagossupport.org.uk/
• No Bases Network (out of date): http://nobasesglobalnetwork.blogspot.com/
• School of the Americas Watch: www.soaw.org
David Vine, American University [email protected]
PUTTING KNOWLEDGE TO USE
David Vine, American University [email protected]
“ONE PAGERS”
David Vine, American University [email protected]
NEEDS UPDATING
NEEDS UPDATING
TALKING POINTS
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
NEEDS UPDATING
David Vine, American University [email protected]
COSTS OF WAR PROJECT
Watson Institute for International Studies
Brown University
costsofwar.org
David Vine, American University [email protected]
David Vine, American University [email protected]
costsofwar.org
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:HISTORY &
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
David Vine, American University [email protected]
A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF BASES ABROAD
• Army Forts on Indian Lands Enable Western Conquest
• Small collection of overseas bases pre-WWII
• Global base network emerges from WWII- Largest in human history
• Post-Cold War Reductions - 60% of foreign bases close - ~300,000 troops to CONUS- But, a significant base and troop posture remains that
remains largest in human history
CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• Shift begins around 2000 • Planned closure of 1/3 Cold War-era bases
• Shift bases south and east from Western Europe
• Focus on creating smaller, more flexible bases
• Global Defense Posture Review (2004)
GLOBAL DEFENSE POSTURE REVIEW (GDPR)
• Shift bases south and east from Western Europe
• Focus on creating smaller, more flexible bases
• Consolidate forces at smaller number of MOBs
• New base nomenclature (below)
NEW BASE NOMENCLATURE
• Main Operating Bases (MOB)
• Forward Operating Sites (FOS)
• Cooperative Security Locations (CSL), - aka “Lily Pad” Bases
David Vine, American University [email protected]
CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• Outcome 1: Significant reductions, especially in
- Germany and Europe - Some consolidation in Japan and South Korea- But continued new construction in Italy and Germany
CHANGES IN THE GLOBAL BASE NETWORK
• Outcome 2: Significant expansion related to
- The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq- The global war on terror- Proliferation of lily pads and other small bases
increasing breadth of the base network
WESTERN EUROPE
• Base closures; Army consolidating to 8 “enduring installations” in Germany, Italy, Benelux
• 2 Brigade Combat Teams withdrawn 2013-14
• Major new construction: Vicenza, Ramstein, Wiesbaden, Landstuhl(?)
• New bases: Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, Lithuania
• Attempted: Czech Republic
US ARMY EUROPE
EAST ASIA(“ASIA PIVOT”)
• South Korea: Consolidating at fewer expanding bases, away from the DMZ, south of Seoul
•Okinawa: 8,000 Marines moving; not waiting for Futenma replacement
• Guam: Build-up downsized (4,700); others moving to Australia, Hawai’i
• New bases created or (discussed): Darwin, (Cocos, Perth, Brisbane, Australia); Singapore; (Philippines); (Thailand)
-Washington Post
- From Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/a-new-us-military-strategy-
old-bases-near-the-south-china-sea/2012/06/22/
gJQAZwf5vV_graphic.html
• Jim Watson/AP - U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, receives a photo album of his visit to Vietnam from Gen. Vu Chien Thang upon his departure at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, Vietnam Tuesday, June 5, 2012.
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-seeks-return-to-se-asian-bases/2012/06/22/gJQAKP83vV_story.html
CENTRAL ASIA
• Post-9/11 bases: Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan (closed); reported facilities in Tajikistan, Georgia
•Afghan withdrawal: NATO agreements with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan; Russia(?)
• India? Attempting closer military ties
• Afghanistan? Bases after 2014???
PERSIAN GULF/MIDDLE EAST
• Withdrawal (mostly) from Iraq and 505 bases
• Large base infrastructure remains: Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia
David Vine, American University [email protected]
USS Ponceaka “the mothership” forward afloat base
US Navy photo # 110310-N-3154P-087: MEDITERRANEAN SEA (March 10, 2011) by MC3 Scott Pittman.
David Vine, American University [email protected]
AFRICA• AFRICOM (still headquartered in Germany)
• Major bases: Djibouti, Diego Garcia
• Other bases: Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, South Sudan, Uganda
• Bases planned/investigated/reported: Algeria, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, São Tomé and Príncipe
• 3,000+ soldier brigade begins rotations 2013
David Vine, American University [email protected]
- From Washington Posthttp://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-african-network/2012/06/13/
gJQAmozvaV_graphic.html
AFRICA
Diego Garcia
-Washington Post
- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-drone-base-in-ethiopia-is-operational/2011/10/27/gIQAznKwMM_story.html
• U.S. Africa Command/Major Eric Hilliard - The Seychelles, where the U.S. had temporarily stationed MQ-9s under the operational authority of U.S. Africa Command, now houses a base where a small fleet of “hunter-killer” drones resumed operations this month.
• http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-building-secret-drone-bases-in-africa-arabian-peninsula-officials-say/2011/09/20/gIQAJ8rOjK_story.html
David Vine, American University [email protected]
Mysterious fatal crash offers rare look at U.S. commando presence in Mali
By Craig Whitlock, Published: July 8, 2012
In pre-dawn darkness, a Toyota Land Cruiser skidded off a bridge in North Africa in the spring, plunging into the Niger River. When rescuers arrived, they found the bodies of three U.S. Army commandos — alongside three dead women.
LATIN AMERICA• Removal: Panama (1999), Ecuador (2009)
• Bases: GTMO, Colombia (7 new attempted after 2009), Honduras, El Salvador, Aruba & Curaçao, Paraguay(?), Peru(?), Chile(?), Argentina(?)
• Expanding: GTMO, Honduras
• Funding: local military/police bases in Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Peru
• 4th Fleet Reactivation
LATIN AMERICA
LATIN AMERICA
BRAC: DOMESTIC BASES
• 2015?