U.S. Military Deployment World Wide

“They sell us our clothes and our cars

They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons

And there is blood on the wire”

– Jackson Browne, US musician

1. Empires

“Oderint dum metuant” (Let them hate so long as they fear) – The Roman Emperor, Caligula

On September 4^th476 CE Odacer, the leader of a Germanic tribe, removed Romulus Augustus the last emperor of the western Roman Empire from his throne. But Odacer was merely the visible symbol of the end. For the Empire had been in a state of decline of some time before that, its once noble ideals long since trampled by an inner cultural and moral decay. With the end of the empire, the number of wars in the known world also rapidly declined. There was for the first time in a long time, a period of relative peace.

This has been the rule throughout history - empires are synonymous with war and mass human suffering. The absence of empire is usually a time of peace and prosperity.

The historian Arnold Toynbee has said that human beings have created and destroyed twenty-seven major civilizations in the past thirty thousand years. Thirty thousand years of soldiers marching off to battle, believing they are fighting for “right” and for (their version of) God and country. The earth is filled with their corpses.

And the ruins of their various empires and gods. Forgotten to all but a few historians.

The question is not whether or not the current empire will survive, for it will not, but rather whether or not it will produce anything of lasting value. Will a Buddha arise from the ashes of the current round of empire building? Or will the legacy be merely a yet another lesson of greed, avarice, and destruction in the wake of continuous war for resources and empire?

2. The map

"Naturally the common people don’t want war... but after all it is the leaders of a country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in every country." — Hermann Goering, Nazi leader in Hitler’s cabinet

I first constructed the map below when I was an undergraduate. I was trying to understand the larger flow of events which had precipitated the death of several close friends of mine in yet another of humanity’s meaningless wars. In the map, the colours have specific meanings as explained below. When I first drew it, there were quite a few areas of green on the map. Now it is almost entirely red. The sources I used in drawing the map are also given below. an image - please see terms of use

RED represents countries or states where known U.S. military bases and troops or contract mercenaries are currently located (total = 94% of the world’s countries). Some have been in place a very long time - Germany for example has been occupied by a very large U.S. military contingent for roughly sixty-five years. In all there are (depending upon source) roughly 1200 U.S. military bases throughout the world - some as large as towns. Many contain large family housing complexes, schools, resort hotels, ski areas, golf courses , etc. But note that this count does not include the hundreds of so-called ’black sites’ run by U.S.-hired mercenaries, U.S.-run foreign governments, etc., or the known bases never mentioned in Base Structure Reports (such as the several bases in Kuwait left out of most reports to Congress). Nor does it include the Navy’s eleven town-sized highly weaponized floating bases which travel the world, or the many other vessels housing over 1,000 crew which similarly travel the world. Costs for staff and maintenance of these bases are estimated at $38 billion per annum, exclusive of additional costs for armament, supply, fuel, airfields, and similar associated costs to the taxpayer.

CRIMSON represents countries or states where particularly high numbers of known U.S. military bases, force, or contract mercenaries are currently located.

GREEN represents countries or states where no known U.S. military bases, force, or contract mercenaries are currently located.

MAUVE denotes countries or states where internationally banned weapons have been allegedly used by U.S. military against civilian populations.

3. Not on the map

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.“ — Reverend Martin Luther King

I have not mapped the following items, for obvious reasons:

U.S. space armaments (the U.S. has been aggressively weaponizing space, e.g. the X-37B, SR-71, etc.). The Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, was agreed to by most of the world’s countries in 1967. It was reaffirmed by the General Assembly of the United Nations recently. This fundamental international law establishes that space must be reserved for peaceful uses. The United States has declined to support or ratify this international treaty.
U.S. naval and submarine forces - Virginia-class attack submarines carry remote drones, the SSGNs carry 154 Tomahawk missiles, etc. all patrol the coastal waters off many countries. As the with that countries heavy investments in the weaponization of space , weaponization of the oceans is ongoing. Transformation to supercavitating very, very long range torpedos, smart steerable torpedos, and supercavitating mini-submarines is just part of this process.
U.S. SOCOM (Special Operations Command) which operate in over 120 countries without the knowledge of the U.S. public (whose taxes pay for their activities). This group currently runs secretive operations and wars in roughly 60% of the planet.
Areas in which the United States in carrying on cyberwarefare. For example, the U.S. and Israel jointly developed and launched the Stuxnet worm in an effort to cripple various Iranian facilities - the first well documented and confirmed act of cyber-warfare. The U.S. shortly thereafter declared that any computer sabotage attempt (eg. on SCADA systems) against any U.S. site could be declared to be an act of war and worthy of military retaliation. Since it is impossible using current techniques to identify the source of a properly done ’cyber’ attack, such declarations merely name ’enemies’ sans proof.
Mercenary forces - currently at more than 54% of its armed force - i.e. more than half. When a U.S. President announced that the “troops are coming home” what is really meant is that regular soldiers are being replaced with mercenary forces - at a cost of billions upon billions of taxpayer dollars. For example, the so-called “pull-out” of U.S. troops from Iraq was merely propaganda for home consumption - more than 16,000 mercenaries under control of the U.S. remained in that country following the pull-out of regular forces, as well as an expanded drone aircraft fleet, etc. This has happened as is happening following U.S. occupation of other formerly sovereign states.
Surrogate drone forces. The U.S. military research establishment (DARPA) is currently funding corporations to "develop interfaces and algorithms to enable a soldier to effectively partner with a semi-autonomous bi-pedal machine and allow it to act as the soldier’s surrogate.” The idea is to design humanoid soldier semi-autonomous bi-pedal robots.
Forces belonging to subject nations which act as proxies for the U.S. - the list of these is well known, of course.
Ongoing and very active research into and stockpiling of, neuro-agent biological weapons.
Use of drones (remotely controlled mobile robotic systems) by the U.S. began in the late 1940’s. As early as 1952 drones were used to fly monkeys into the mushroom clouds created by U.S. atomic weapons tests, to see how long they lived (not long) and how they died (horribly). Use of drones by U.S. forces to kill humans around the world has been exponentially increasing ever since. For example the U.S. has in excess of 7,000 unmanned flying drones currently in the air, 15,000 unmanned drones ground vehicles, over 2,000 unmanned robots fighting in its current middle eastern oil wars ... many of which carry weapons of various types and fire power. (Update: Currently 1/3 of all U.S. warplanes are drones, that is to say, robots.) That government has claimed that their use of missile and gun carrying drones to kill people without trial (the very definition of assassination), without legal justification, without recourse to international law, ignoring sovereign boarders, does not constitute a hostile act, or act of war. Note that the rapidly rising use of drones in addition to space weaponry, obviates many of the traditional deployment strategies mapped above. Manned aircraft for the airforce are basically no longer built - the emphasis has changed complete to autonomous drone craft. Current U.S. military contracts to the usual players indicate that that country is working toward a force of completely autonomous drones which can make their own kill decisions without human intervention (see here). Finally, is worth mentioning perhaps that while there is an international legal framework regarding war crimes and human rights violations (the most recent condemnation from the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal) , there is no such legal structure which deals with autonomous robotic weaponry. Perhaps this is another reason for the race to build these killing machines.
Use of hypersonic asymmetric attack weapons. Like Tomahawk missiles these devices can deliver conventional or nucular payloads, but to any point on the planet at six times the speed of sound. They are perfect first strike weapons and can avoid first-strike detection radar. As with the current build up of U.S. space-based weaponry, the implications are rather obvious.

“I am a united states Marine and I have been to Afghanistan twice. I can tell you from my 4 years of being in the corps that no one wants to be over there for one. We do nothing productive over there. We waste billions and billions of dollars on this war that gains us nothing. The Afghan people are free, the Taliban do not control them like the government says they do. The Afghan people are with the Taliban because they don’t want us there because we drop bombs and kill their children.” — (name redacted)

4. Two types of war

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy." — James Madison, former United States president

So many lives lost senselessly.

Some researchers believe that there are two fronts to this perpetual war:

The obvious one of external destruction and vast profits for those involved in arms dealing, military contracts, cleanup, etc.
The less obvious but just as egregious, class warfare waged by those in power upon everyone else.

This latter front is perhaps indicated by the prison system which the U.S. has constructed or the amassing of 98% of that nation’s privately held wealth in the hands of fewer than 400 people. Perhaps there is a morality gap here? At any rate, this nation also has the world’s largest military expenditure, a plethora of alleged war profiteers, and a propaganda system which it is alleged, is largely invisible due to its pervasiveness as well as an almost complete ignorance of history fostered by its educational system). The end result? Allegedly millions of civilian deaths, and allegedly many millions more maimed and injured, with ruined lives.

I do not know if these allegations are true of fanciful. However there is a very well researched and cited academic literature on the issue which is overwhelmingly in support of many of the allegations, from NGOs such as Amnesty International, Christian Science Reports, United Nations documents, and findings and reports from numerous war crimes trials from the Russel Commission onwards. Perhaps these may merit your own investigation?

"It never happened. Nothing ever happened. Even while it was happening it wasn’t happening. It didn’t matter. It was of no interest."
-- H. Pinter, Nobel Prize Winner, discussing public apathy toward war crimes

5. Reason for wars of invasion

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. ... We should take nothing for granted.” — U.S. President D. Eisenhower

Those who give the orders are seldom the ones to die.

For the frontline soldiers, death is slow and obsence while their high commanders dine in comfort thousands of miles away. They receive medals, dying for the “glory” of their “just cause”. Whichever side of the battle they happen to be on. Again, and again, and again, and again. Dying to “end all wars”, “to bring democracy”, “to stop atrocities”, “to save the children”, and on, and on throughout the sad history of humanity - a handful of medals scattered on a grave.

One of the most eloquent example of the real reason behind most wars and its roots in greed may be heard from a 1931 speech given by U.S. Major General Smedley Butler before the American Legion. Butler had spent a lifetime in the marines, fighting mainly on foreign soil. He was decorated for valour many times, was recipient of two US Medals of Honour. Butler is the most highly decorated marine in US history. His portrait hangs in honor at the USMC headquarters.

Here are his thoughts in 1931, toward the end of his career in service to the U.S. government:

“I have spent 33 years ... being a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism.... I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I helped make Mexico, and especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1916. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City (Bank) boys to collect revenue in. I helped rape half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street.... In China, I helped see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.... I had ... a swell racket. I was rewarded with honors, medals, and promotions. I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was operate a racket in three cities. The Marines operated on three continents....” — Major General S. Butler, the most highly decorated U.S. marine in history.

The reasons given for war are never the real reasons, as even the most casual familiarity with the historical record will show.

Most modern wars are about greed, avarice, and corruption on the part of the leaders of a powerful nation who wish to annex the resources of a less powerful nation. And more particularly, allegedly augment the already immense wealth of a handfull of aristocrates and their allegedly bought and paid for politicians.. It is almost trivially easy to get the public onside for these wars, even when it is obvious that there is actually no need whatsoever to go to war. The method used by the Nazis is just a potent today as it was under Hitler’s rule:

“Naturally the common people don’t want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.“ – Hermann Goering, President of the Reichstag, Nazi Luftwaffe Commander in Chief

Please also see my article on what is known as “Just War Theory\” for a more thorough analysis.

6. Country List

"... how America ’manages’ Eurasia is critical... Eurasia accounts for about three-fourths of the world’s known energy resources... Moreover, as America becomes an increasingly multi-cultural society, it may find it more difficult to reach a consensus on foreign policy issues, except in the circumstance of a truly massive and widely perceived direct external threat." — Zbigniew Brzezinski, 1997, former US National Security Adviser and foreign policy advisor to U.S. Presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama

As adjunct to this map I have added a few specifics in the table below:

Table 1 A few but by no means all of the countries against whom the United States has waged war.
The percentage of these countries which have since installed dictatorships is rather high.

Afghanistan	Albania	Algeria	Angola
Argentina	Austria	Bermuda	Bolivia
Bosnia	Brazil	Britain	Cambodia
Canada	Central Af. Rep.	Chad	Chile
China	Colombia	Congo	Cote d’Ivoire
Croatia	Cuba	Cypress	Dafur
Djibouti	Dominican Rep.	East Timur	Egypt
El Salvador	Ecuador	Eritrea	Ethiopie
Falkland Is.	Fiji	France	Gaon
Georgia	Germany	Greece	Greenland
Grenada	Guatemala	Guinea-Bissau	Guyana
Haiti	Hawaii	Honduras	Iceland
Iroquois Nation	Indonesia	Iran	Iraq
Italy	Jamaica	Japan	Kenya
Korea	Laos	Lebanon	Liberia
Libya	Macedonia	Martial Is.	Mexico
Morocco	Netherlands	Nicaragua	Numbibia
Namibia	Palestine	Pakistan	Panama
Peru	Philippines	Puerto Rico	Russia
Rwanda	Samoa	Santo Domingo	Saudi Arabia
Serbia	Sierra Leone	Somalia	Soviet Union
Spain	Sudan	Suriname	Taiwan
Tanzania	Thailand	Trinidad	Turkey
Uruguay	Uzbekistan	Venezuela	Vietnam
West Indies	Yemen	Yucatan	Yugoslavia
Zaire	more to come...

7. Realpolitik of war accountability

“Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot... It’s fun to shoot some people." — Lt. Gen. James Mattis, a three star Marine general and commander of US Marine expeditions, later appointed top Marine General at U.S. Central Command

“The Commander-in-Chief and those under him authorized a systematic regime of torture”. — U.S. Maj.-Gen. Antonio Taguba referring to a U.S. President’s ordering of war crimes

"We’ve shot an amazing number of people and killed a number and, to my knowledge, none has proven to have been a real threat to the force." — United States General Stanley McChrystal

"I never did anything, great or small, without obtaining in advance of express instructions from ... my superiors." — Adolph Eichmann, Nazi war criminal

"The fact that a person acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior does not relieve him from responsibility under international law, provided a moral choice was in fact possible to him." --Nuremberg Principle IV, in the trial of war criminals

"You’re either with us or against us" — U.S. President Bush.

“I... reserve the right to act unilaterally ... against anyone” — U.S. President Obama.

The U.S. American Service-Members’ Protection Act, authorizes the U.S. President to use “all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any US or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court”. It also bans any U.S. government agency from assisting the International Criminal Court in its proceedings, and in essence, to send in the troops should the International Court charge any U.S. official with War Crimes or Crimes Against Humanity.

However under international law these declarations are invalid: At the Nuremberg Trials Adolph Eichmann, a number of officers, as well as common soldiers of the state, proffered the defence that the atrocities they had perpetrated occurred strictly in accord with German law. Indeed this was correct - for German leaders had written laws specifically authorizing Nazi soldiers and themselves to use whatever means they chose - torture and mass murder - exclusive of international law. The results of the Nuremberg trials and several international Conventions since however show conclusively that this is not a valid defence. Changing local law to allow war crimes and crimes against humanity, denying international law, does not in any way exonerate the perpetrators of such crimes.

Under these Conventions all signatories (which includes most countries in the world) must make every effort to apprehend and arrest any accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity as soon as such persons are discovered on their soil. Most western countries have versions of this rule within their own sets of laws. Spain and Switzerland have attempted to act in accordance with both their own laws in the regard or with international law in arresting leaders or former leaders of several countries. However most western countries have ignored the Conventions to which they are signatories. Even though some of the most horrific admitted torturers, human rights abusers, and alleged war criminals have travelled on book tours through their countries. This sadly, is the realpolitik of war and accountability.

“This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence — economic, political, even spiritual — is felt in every city, every statehouse, every office of the federal government.” — D. Eisenhower, U.S. President

8. The Long War

“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children…This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron.” D. Eisenhower, former U.S. President

U.S. military policy has been alleged to be the so-called “long war” first formulated by the Truman administration. This is virtually the antithesis of a Pax Romana approach, being rather a desire for eternal war. You can decide for yourself if the huge profits eternal war reaps for a handfull of aristocrats, is worth the slaughter of everyone else:

Reporter Lesley Stahl asking about U.S. sanctions prior to that country’s invasion of Iraq during a filmed interview with the U.S. Secretary of State: “We have heard that a half million children have died. I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?” U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price? We think the price is worth it.”

“At 4 a.m. on Sunday morning , December 9th, the American planes struck .... The bomb released hundreds of smaller bombs that sprayed the area with shrapnel, reported Bibi Hawa, aunt of a 6 year old girl paralyzed by the attack ....The girl, Palwasha, has a tiny shard of metal which neatly severed her spinal chord. The girl’s mother, Rose, was struck by shrapnel which tore through her abdomen. The hospital doctor spoke about other injured dying.” — David Rhode, The New York Times

The well known PNAC more formally expanded this idea (PNAC - Project for the New American Century is available from most university libraries and online sources in PDF format). The U.S. Vice President, the U.S. Secretary of Defence, the head of the World Bank, and other well known U.S. leaders were signatories. The goal was to implement multiple and simultaneous major theaters of war in various parts of the world, then implant so-called “constabulary duties” - permanent military force, bases, weapons, and intervention - throughout the world. Whether the world wants or needs U.S. culture or values, was not discussed.

Narrative: "The American narrative that the U.S. gives aid through support and money to the nations of the world has been a lie since World War II." — Gore Videl, Nobel Laureate
Motive: “Their soldiers go forth believing they are doing good, when what they are really doing is destroying everything in their path. All so that a few fat rich men far, far away from the killing fields, can become even richer” — Aleister Lam
Murder: “It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.” — Albert Einstein

9. Sources:

“The pioneers of a warless world are the young men and women who refuse military service. “ --Albert Einstein

It is my hope that you will search out detailed references for yourself concerning the rise of militarism as an interesting historical exercise, using the list below as a starting point.

I would recommend beginning with Blum’s work, and moving on from there to the others.

Blum’s “Rogue State”
United States Department of Defence Base Structure Report
National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
CSR: Congressional Research Service
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (numerous reports)
United Nations Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries
United States Department of Defence Active Duty Military Personnel Strengths by Regional Area and by Country
Amnesty International reports
United Nations War Crimes Commission
Médecins Sans Frontières
Zwicker’s “Towers of Deception”
PNAC (Project for the New American Century)
US General Accounting Office
US Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
Foreign and Military Intelligence Final Report
Hearings before a US House Subcommittee of the Committee Appropriations (numerous years)
Various news feeds from non-western media
Directory of U.S. Military Bases Worldwide
Peace Corp. reports
Joint Functional Component Command Space and Global Strike, Conplan 8022 (pre-emptive nuclear strikes)
Reports on War Crimes to the International Court
Indicments from the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal
Reporters without boarders
Rejali, D. “Torture and Democracy”
Commission on Review of Overseas Military Facility Structure of the United States
Johnson’s base reports in the “Sorrows of Empire”
Bacevich, A. "Washington Rules, America’s Path to Permanent War" (good source for cited data)
Bacevich, A. "The New American Militarism, How Americans are Seduced by War."
International War Crimes Tribunal
Mayer, J. “The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals”
Congressional Research Service
United States African Command (AFRICOM): ‘Questions and Answers about AFRICOM’
Lutz, C. “Bases of Empire: The Global Struggle Against US Military Posts”
U.S. House Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on International Security and Scientific Affairs
U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs: Use of U.S. Armed Forces in Foreign Countries
U.S. Congressional Record: Armed Actions Taken by the United States Without a Declaration of War
Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons
Noam Chomsky - numerous papers by Dr. Chomsky
Mazigh, M. “Hope and Despair: My Struggle to Free My Husband, Maher Arar” (Canadian war crimes)
Michael Parenti - numerous papers by Dr. Parenti
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees summary statistics
Federation of American Scientists reports on biological weapons

“It is my conviction that killing under the cloak of war is nothing but an act of murder.” — Albert Einstein.

“The Way of the Warrior has been misunderstood as a means to kill and destroy others ... to smash, injure, or destroy is the worst sin a human-being can commit. The real Way of the Warrior is to prevent slaughter ." — Morihei Ueshiba, the world’s only never-defeated martial artist and a National Treasure of Japan