Is the Empire beginning to crumble?

[unhappycamper]

Rumors of Naples Navy base closing denied
Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, May 13, 2010

NAPLES, Italy — A Pentagon official has denied rumors that the U.S. Navy base in Naples will close, a day after media reports indicated the base was slated for the chopping block.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Wendy Snyder said there are no discussions about closing the base.

The rumor spread in the Naples military community after Italian news agency ANSA quoted CNN host John King asserting that the base was a Cold War relic.

King had been interviewing Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was discussing ways to cut military spending.

"(W)e will continue to look across the board where there may be wasteful spending," Snyder said. "This is a process and we are at the very beginning of that process. No decisions have been made."



unhappycamper comment: You mean we still have Cold War bases in Europe? I know we can kick the shit out of those invading Soviet tanks and kill passengers on a tram with an airplane. What are those 200 B-61 atomic bombs doing?

Someone please remind me why we are still there...

[AndyA]

1. We've got to keep that Military-Industrial Complex going.

Think of the jobs it provides! :eyes:

[Lurks Often]

6. Yes

The European countries we have our bases in rarely want us to leave, they like the millions of dollars we pump into the local economies and they like the jobs for their citizens that are dependent on the base. That means closing a base, in say Germany, becomes a political decision. So do we save a 100 million dollars* and piss off an ally or do make the ally happy and spend the money?


*I picked 100 million dollars as an example, I'm sure the exact number varies from base to base.

[lunatica]

2. If it weren't for us there would be no peace

Oh wait...

never mind

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. I hope so

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[marmar]

4. Not a moment too soon.....

[mmonk]

5. It may be in its last throes

[ConcernedCanuk]

8. Don't forget the "turning the corner" thing

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heck - USA's global wars got more corners than the pentagon

[bemildred]

7. It's been crumbling since Raygun came in, since Vietnam really.

We are into the endgame now.