This is not at all menat to deminisih those who fought so deligently and bravely to keep our Nation soveriegn. This post is meant for a more political question. Why after 75 years, does the United States still occupy Japan, Germany and Italy? I know that at first it was a safegaurd againts the aggressive intent of the Soviet empire. Yet that 'threat' ended in the early 1990"s. As part of the aftermath, we had a systematic military reduction with the closing of many domestic military instalations, that resulted in a economic ressesion in the areas that were greatly supported by those bases. Yet we made no if little effort to end our decades long occupation of foreign states.
Naturally the same question could be asked why do we still occupy the Confedarte States of America? As you can see many more Military instalations are in the South East United state than there are in the North East and Mid-west. After almost 150 years.
Just a pill for thought.
Joseph
[blockquote]Joseph Knopick said:
Why after 75 years, does the United States still occupy Japan, Germany and Italy? I know that at first it was a safegaurd againts the aggressive intent of the Soviet empire. Yet that 'threat' ended in the early 1990"s. As part of the aftermath, we had a systematic military reduction with the closing of many domestic military instalations, that resulted in a economic ressesion in the areas that were greatly supported by those bases. Yet we made no if little effort to end our decades long occupation of foreign states.
Naturally the same question could be asked why do we still occupy the Confedarte States of America? As you can see many more Military instalations are in the South East United state than there are in the North East and Mid-west. After almost 150 years.
Just a pill for thought.
Joseph
[/blockquote]
You may legitimately wonder why the U.S. has bases in various places, but you are off the map when you refer to the U.S. as occupying those places. The definition of occupy is to "take control of (a place, especially a country) by military conquest or settlement" The military bases you reference do not meet that definition. I note that you did not mention the bases the U.S. military maintained in Great Brtiain into the 21st century as an occupation, although I believe there is now only one base in operation.
As to why there are so many bases in the south it has more to do with cheap plentiful land, access to the coast for rapid deployment, and a population with a greater acceptance of the military.
[blockquote]Rabbi O said:
You may legitimately wonder why the U.S. has bases in various places, but you are off the map when you refer to the U.S. as occupying those places. The definition of occupy is to "take control of (a place, especially a country) by military conquest or settlement" The military bases you reference do not meet that definition. I note that you did not mention the bases the U.S. military maintained in Great Brtiain into the 21st century as an occupation, although I believe there is now only one base in operation.
As to why there are so many bases in the south it has more to do with cheap plentiful land, access to the coast for rapid deployment, and a population with a greater acceptance of the military.
[/blockquote]
Thank you Rabbi O for your knowledgable explaination. I greatly appreciate it. I honestly forgot about the US Bases in the UK. I do recall that there is or was a US Navy Submarine Base in Scotland. I also remember also now that we had Air Bases there as well as in France.
However durring and after the 2nd World War, the UK [then still still Great Britain], France, and other countries we may have had base in were intially US Allies therefore a friendly base placement, not an occupation by an invading force, as in Gremany, Italy, and Japan. Yet today these Nations are US Allies andhad been since the end of the war and the earliest days of the Cold War [1947-1991].
My point was the idea that we concurred our then enemies and have kept a military presence there ever sence. As liken to once Rome concurred it, they kept it. Many outlying territories of the Empire were Client States like Egypt, These Nations in our modern world, Germany, Italy, Japan, and pehaps noe Iraq, Pakistan, and others may well be American Client States.
Just as I said a thought. Not ment to be anything more.
Again Rabbi O. Thank you. I have a better understanding now.