Respectfully, in which country is the US an "Occupying Force?" Not Iraq. Not Afghanistan.
Yes, the US has many military bases around the world (most quite small) but which government has asked them to leave? And what would happen if they did?
For decades, the United States stationed its largest, and most strategic, overseas military bases (Naval at Subic Bay / Air Force at Clark) in the Philippines. In 1991, negotiations between the two governments broke down over land-leasing fees. And so ... the US left. This does not sound like the actions of an Occupying Force.
If the United States pulled back all the troops it has stationed overseas, what do you think would be the reaction? I suspect the world would be engulfed in wars in short order. Changing the balance of power is always a dangerous business.
What would happen between North and South Korea (the two countries are technically still at war). What about Japan? Would they not have to explode their military spending to counter China? Maybe even go nuclear. And what of Eastern Europe? Do you think Russia might like to regain Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania? They're hugely strategic ... just like Crimea. The rest of Ukraine perhaps? Who would stop them? How might the other Eastern European countries react to that? Germany? France? The UK?
And the Middle East? How do you think a power vacuum there might play out?
Is there any possibility, do you think, that all those overseas American military bases and American aircraft carrier fleets are keeping the lid on Pandora's Box?
Given the inter-connectedness of the world's economy, what would be the economic impact of even one such conflict?
To quote my article:
In my 50 years and 57 countries, there is one thing I've been convinced of beyond all others: That the "thin veneer of civilization" is just that ... thin.
everything you just listed is territory we are occupying space in. Hence occupy. like I said we are not on the collonialization aspect that the red coats did but we are most deffinatly occupying space in a large portion of the world. Is it justifiable by being the "world police"? who knows.
Is there the posibility that all of those overseas assests through out our recent history of nation building have somehow made it worse? I love our military but we have made some bad decisions as a nation going in and topling regiems( yes most of them if not all of them were shitty brutal dictators) but then we always leave the very power vacuums you speak of IE: the rise of ISIS and al-qaeda. Did not al-qaeda come about from our medaling in afganistan building "freedom fighters" against the russians? Maybe we should just try sitting it out for one round and let the rest of the world be forced to put on their big boy pants and deal with their own problems for once. I get tired of seeing and hearing about our boys coming home in body bags. I have lost friends serving over seas to indescrimanant road side bombs and it is just terrible. We are ripping ourselves apart here at home enough right now. In closing i completely agree with your last quote of the "thin veneer of civilization" We are all savage animals, that is human nature and the only thing keeping us from being animals is that veneer of civilization. I ask how long do we have to be the babysitters? How long till the rest of the world becomes civilized and at what cost to us?
@doomsdaychassis,
I agree with almost all your sentiments. It is time for the rest of the world to step up and do more to help solve some of the planet's collective problems, instead of letting it always fall to the US.
I think we may be needlessly quibbling about the word "Occupy." Yes, of course, we are there, occupying territory. But, we are not an "Occupying Power" as that term is defined under International Law. Our remaining troops in Iraq and Afghanistan are there at the behest of those countries respective governments. If they wish the US to leave, they have only to ask.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_occupation
I can agree on that.