july 10, 2026
U.S. Military Bases

American military bases are the result of a convergence of interests; they do not exist because of American goodwill or a desire for conquest.

During the Cold War, Europe, devastated by the war, was not in a position to resist the Soviet Union, so the United States assumed that responsibility. Today, that threat no longer exists, and the Americans—even before Trump—began arguing that Europeans should take responsibility for their own defense (including raising defense spending to 5% of GDP). This has sparked enormous controversy.

The same reasoning applies to the Middle East. Secular regimes (the "little Satans") fear Islamist fundamentalists and therefore welcome the presence of American military bases (the "Great Satan"). The United States, in turn, fears that the entire Middle East could fall under fundamentalist control. There is therefore a convergence of interests, just as there once was in Europe.