Ecuadorian officials want U.S. troops out; colonel warns of damage to drug

[struggle4progress]

By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Monday, April 28, 2008
Editor's note: This is the second in a three-part series on the U.S. Southern Command

MANTA, Ecuador — Pentagon planners have invested more than $70 million over the last nine years at Forward Operating Location Manta and call the post a key hub for counternarcotics and humanitarian work in the region.

Ecuadorian lawmakers want them out.

President Rafael Correa, as part of his campaign promises two years ago, has pledged to force U.S. troops off the coastal base when the two countries’ operating agreement expires next year.

His allies have accused the U.S. of using the installation to aid Colombian military attacks on FARC camps inside Ecuador last month, a charge U.S. officials deny. Lawmakers rewriting the constitution recently inserted language barring foreign military bases within the country ...

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54377

[izquierdista]

1. As goes Ecuador....

Other nations should take heed, and ban foreign military bases as well.