US foreign military bases provoke war, pollute communities, and steal land from Indigenous peoples
The Biggest Military Base Empire on Earth
Greta Zarro / World BEYOND War
(August 24, 2024) — The United States of America, unlike any other nation on Earth, maintains a massive network of foreign military bases around the world, more than 900 bases in more than 90 countries and territories. If the peace movement is serious about ending the United States’ and its allies’ warmaking, then this global constellation of bases must be curtailed.
The permanent stationing of more than 220,000 US troops, weapons arsenals, and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and ships in every corner of the globe makes the logistics for US aggression, and that of its allies, quicker and more efficient. Bases also facilitate the proliferation of nuclear weapons, with the United States keeping nuclear bombs in five NATO member countries, and nuclear-capable planes, ships, and missile launchers in many others. Because the US is continually creating plans for military actions around the world, and because the US military always has some troops “on the ready,” the initiation of combat operations is simpler.
Not to mention the fact that these bases act as a provocation to surrounding countries. Their presence is a permanent reminder of the military capacity of the US Rather than deterring potential adversaries, US bases antagonize other countries into greater military spending and aggression. Russia, for example, justifies its interventions in Georgia and Ukraine by pointing to encroaching US bases in Eastern Europe.
China feels encircled by the more than 200 US bases in the Pacific region, leading to a more assertive policy in the South China Sea. With vastly more foreign military bases than any other country on Earth, the US logically must lead the way in a reverse arms race.
Furthermore, the US’s network of foreign military bases perpetuates empire — an ongoing form of colonialism that robs Indigenous people of their lands. From Guam to Puerto Rico to Okinawa to dozens of other locations across the world, the military has taken valuable land from local populations, often pushing out Indigenous people in the process, without their consent and without reparations.
For example, between 1967 and 1973, the entire population of the Chagos Islands was forcibly removed from the island of Diego Garcia by the UK so that it could be leased to the US for an airbase. The Chagossian people were taken off their island by force and transported in conditions compared to those of slave ships.
Despite an overwhelming vote of the UN General Assembly, and an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice in the Hague that the island should be returned to the Chagossians, the UK has refused and the US continues operations from Diego Garcia today.
Each base has its own story of injustice and destruction, impacting the local economy, community, and environment. The US military has a notorious legacy of sexual violence, including kidnapping, rape, and murders of women and girls. Yet US troops abroad are often afforded impunity for their crimes due to Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) with the so-called “host” country. The lack of respect for the lives and bodies of Indigenous people is another product of unequal power relationships between the US military and the people whose land they occupy.
In essence, the presence of US foreign bases creates apartheid zones, in which the occupied population, with second-class status, comes into the base to perform the labor of cooking, cleaning, and landscaping. Furthermore, the rise in property taxes and inflation in areas surrounding US bases has been known to push locals out.
Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs) also often exempt US foreign military bases from adhering to local environmental regulations. The construction of bases has caused irreparable ecological damage, such as the destruction of coral reefs and the environment for endangered species in Henoko, Okinawa.
Furthermore, it is well documented at hundreds of sites around the world that military bases leach toxic so-called “forever chemicals” into local water supplies, which has had devastating health consequences for nearby communities.
Closing bases is a necessary step to right the wrongs of colonialism, to curb the environmental destruction wrought by militarism, and to shift the global security paradigm towards a demilitarized approach that centers common security — no one is safe until all are safe. This September 20-22, in honor of the International Day of Peace, World BEYOND War is organizing its annual global #NoWar2024 Conference focused on the theme of the US military base empire — its impacts and the solutions.
Throughout three days of sessions held in four locations around the world (Sydney, Australia; Wanfried, Germany; Bogotá, Colombia; and Washington, DC), and streamed on Zoom, speakers will address the social, ecological, economic, and geopolitical impacts of US military bases in their regions, plus the powerful stories of nonviolent resistance to prevent, close, and convert bases to peacetime uses.
Karina Lester, a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in the far North West of South Australia, will speak about the impacts of nuclear testing felt by her people. Alejandra Rodríguez Peña, member of the Olga Castillo Collective in Colombia, will discuss the collective’s work for justice and reparations for victims of sexual violence by US military personnel.
Laura Benítez, a marine biologist, will detail the campaign opposing the construction of a US base on Colombia’s Gorgona Island, which is home to unique ecosystems and rich wildlife. Ricardo Armando Patiño Aroca, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defense of Ecuador during the government of Rafael Correa, will share how the US base in Manta, Ecuador was effectively shut down. Dr. Cynthia Enloe, renowned for her work on gender and militarism and the author of Bananas, Beaches and Bases, will explain how the presence of US military bases impacts the local economy, shapes race relations within the community, and re-configures the sexual politics of a society.
On September 20-22, join us virtually — or in-person in Australia, Germany, Colombia, and the US — for the #NoWar2024 Conference to hear from these and many other speakers about the impacts of the USA’s military base empire and how to work towards demilitarization and decolonization.
Greta Zarro is the Organizing Director at World BEYOND War.
