My Bases Are Bigger Than Your Country
NEWS: Our roundup of the Pentagon's latest basing stats—plus a few we dug up ourselves.
August 22, 2008
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What a Spread!
Land occupied by US bases: 46,566 square miles*
Land area of North Korea: 46,541 square miles
Lessons From Rome
Roman bases at empire's peak (AD 117): 37
British bases at empire's peak (1898): 36
US military sites overseas (2007): 761*
In Germany: 268
In Japan: 124
In South Korea: 87
Number that the Pentagon defines as "medium" or "large" (worth at least $888 million): 30
Number of foreign countries/territories that host US bases: 39**
Total US sites, foreign and domestic: 5,429
Military Architecture
Total Pentagon "facilities": 545,714*
Percentage of total on foreign soil: 19
Number on foreign soil: 102,376
Buildings: 52,962
Roads, bridges, weapons ranges, etc.: 39,648
Overseas facilities' "replacement cost": $119 billion
Priorities, Priorities
Estimated worldwide defense spending: $1.2 trillion
US share of the total: 49 percent
Federal defense spending (FY '08): $587 billion
Federal education spending (FY '08): $62 billion
Federal Social Security spending (FY '08): $5 billion
Bush budget request to train and equip foreign militaries (FY '08): $4.5 billion
Overall US spending for tsunami relief: $656 million
*Figures don't include bases in Iraq and Afghanistan; "facilities" include buildings, structures, roads, bridges, ranges, and plants; "sites" may include bases, hospitals, schools, and depots.
**The Pentagon does not acknowledge all of its bases. (See "
America's Unwelcome Advances.")
Celia Perry is an assistant editor at Mother Jones.
But it makes the point clear: We already are an empire.
Ironically, I look forward to this day when we are just an ordinary nation among nations.
Hope the door hit you on the ass on your way out.
Thank you for providing these vitally important
and, until now, carefully hidden and disturbing
statistics.