U S Military in Other Countries

 Do you have any idea how many countries have a U S military presence?  You will be amazed.  

Before you make a wild ass guess, here's some perspective.  The list includes embassy and consulate security troops, typically a small group of marines.  It does not include countries like Afghanistan and Iraq where there is active combat, nor does it include navy personnel at sea.  Also not included are roughly 40,000 military personnel on classified missions in undisclosed locations.

This October, 2017 article in the New York Times sets the number at 172+. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/opinion/americas-forever-wars.html

The article questions the legality of our presence in various countries, the necessity of massive military funding authorized by congress, and the real value of the numerous, far-flung postings around the world.  Further, it comments on the lack of an overall strategy in combatting terrorism.  In my view, the article is spot on.

Did all the countries in the world get together and unanimously declare that the U S would be the world's police force?  That we had the right to declare war - aka police actions, peace-keeping missions, etc - anywhere, any time?  If so, I missed that bit of news.

In 2018, U S troops saw combat in 7 countries.  We've been in Afghanistan for 20 years, and in Iraq since 2003.

Enough already!  It's time to rethink our overseas military commitment and the billions of $ of military spending - with little or no discernible benefit to any US citizen.  The national debt continues to increase, year after year, while health care, infrastructure and education go wanting.  Deplorable.