Deficit Reduction by Closing Overseas Bases

During the last year closing overseas bases has become a focus of several efforts to find ways to reduce the federal deficit.  This includes the reports from the Center for American Progress, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, and Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK).  The National Commission drew upon previous proposals by former Secretary [...]

Overseas Basing Commission Proposed

WASHINGTON, DC, October 19, 2011 - On the heels of their call for cuts to wasteful overseas military construction projects, U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) have introduced a bill requiring the U.S. government to examine the potential benefits and savings realized by closing outdated overseas military bases. Read more.

Race to the Bottom

Tomas Valasek of the Centre for European Reform writes: “For decades, European countries cut defence budgets with little worry. The United States kept enough troops on the continent to deter all potential enemies, almost irrespective of how small European militaries became. But the US contingent has been steadily shrinking, and the pace of this downsizing [...]

Closing U.S. Bases in Europe

Carlton Meyer, a former Marine Corps officer who participated in military operations around the world, believes that numerous overseas U.S. military installations can and should be closed.  In his website http://www.g2mil.com he offers an Overseas Base Closure List showing “outdated U.S. military bases overseas that can be promptly closed to save billions of dollars each [...]