Well, before answering your post, you are not at all concerned that two years of post-Saddam Iraq is not resulting in Iraqis replacing coalition forces? That's unbelievable.
Elroy, you need to see the bigger picture.
I'm discussing Iraqis replacing coalition forces in the security role at the moment. The "bigger picture" sounds like a different discussion.
After Germany was pacified, we kept 70,000 troops there for 60 years. Only recently have we drawn down that number. In South Korea and Japan, we kept 75,000 troops. Only recently have we started to draw that down. In total, we kept 200,000 troops stationed in Europe and Asia (http://www.cato.org/dailys/7-24-98.html) as part of the U.S. global strategic posture for 60 years!
In none of these cases has the US got US forces patrolling the roads. You are confusing overseas US military bases with policing a population.
The new threat the U.S. faces is in the Middle East.
Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt are going to attack the US? What are you talking about? They can barely govern themselves, much less united against a country on a different continent!
However, if we are to maintain peace in the Middle East, then we are going to need a large troop and Navy presence in the region for decades to come.
Again, you're talking about bases, not patrolling the roads. |
