This is a blog for the community of Geography 170: "Geographies of Violence in the Age of Empire" in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley. This course explores a range of answers to the question: How might geographical thinking be used to critically explore new forms of violence and empire?
Oct 1, 2010
US Military bases around the World.
7 comments:
Cecilia Tran
said...
When I read the Lutz piece, "Warmaking," it really hit home just how much this military complex is integrated into our society. So many Americans are ignorant or indifferent to the size of the military and its pervasiveness throughout the globe. What's worse is that those who do know or even have some vague idea of the military's magnitude tend to buy into this the rhetoric of necessary defense/surveillance.I recently broached this topic with a friend whose father served in the Gulf War and Iraq war. I was not really surprised but quite saddened by the simplicity of his argument as to why military downsizing is not a viable option. As he put it, "Sure it's [the military] everywhere but no one wants to sacrifice security." Ironically, I think that this commitment to security has bred an increasing sense of insecurity throughout the world. At the same time it has created an American culture of paranoia. (Just look at how many films/books carry plot lines of terrorist attacks).
Yeah I love your idea of this strange relationship of Security and Insecurity in American common sense. There is a production of fear that goes on in the nation. News stations being the main culprits. The Terrorist menace is reproduced again and again as this illogical evil foe 'out there' in the countries not connected to the "west". Americans in their produced insecurity believe that security will be delivered by military intervention abroad.
I think the key question to challange people on is "what are the affects of the military on our security?" Considering how much larger Al Qaeda and other radical terrorist groups are after the wars, considering the frustration and anger that emerges from invading other countries, it seems entirely implausible that today is somehow a "safer" world than 10 years ago.
Clearly there are a host of other questions we can ask, but often false ideas fall apart within their own value-system rather than being corrected with another.
I cringe when I see a military recruiting poster, especially when they target poor communities. The billions unnecessarily spent over the years could have provided access to higher education so that these recruits would never have to join in the first place.
Cecilia’s comment on security and insecurity strikes a familiar cord – Colin Powell as the ‘lone wolf’ in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq. His argument - initially forceful, eventually mute – was precisely that exercising military power against an Arab nation that has committed no act of provocation could only fuel hatred and further increase insecurity. Of course, he eventually went on to give that now infamous presentation at the U.N….and we are still in Iraq.
I don’t think Gabe’s question will be answered in the near future. I think it will take some time for America to realize that it is our dependence on the military as our “ideology”, our “identity”, our source of power and security, that has, in fact, given rise to a global climate of insecurity.
Cecilia's mentioning of the Lutz article sparked my memory. It seems that America has an addicition to the military-industrial complex that characterizes the modern Western world. As is the case of any addiction, our government has indulged more and more in weapons and wars with the hope that we will finally be free from the addiction. America has already "overdosed" on the military, and perhaps people are being rudely awakened that to continue to indulge is not the answer. Sure, a military is absolutely necessary, but when the military starts controlling socio-economic trends and makes education cuts necessary, it has gone beyond its use.
As Zeke mentioned, I am always shaken up when I see how the military targets poorer communities and represents itself as the "best available option" in many cases.
I want to point out that I am not a very political person… I think we should keep in mind that the branches of the United States Military are all filled with volunteers. At the present time no one is being forced into a draft, which keeps us free to attend Berkeley…
Leaving opinions aside, the topic of discussion seems like it is swaying off topic slightly. This map, “US military bases around the world” can easily give the perspective of the United States as having an imperialistic grasp over a good portion of the world. However, I think there is some key information that we don’t have. First off, there is no date… this could very well be a projection of the United States influence during the Gulf War… I think it is because there would be more of an influence of troops in Afghanistan if it were taking place in sometime close to the present day. Secondly, the range of data is not very well displayed. If there are less than a thousand troops within a country, most likely the military occupation is almost insignificant. I may not be correct in saying this, but I think the lightly colored red countries should be discredited. In many ways a 1000+ troops is seems somewhat indistinct… on an aircraft carrier alone, there are close to 5000 personnel on board… that is just one ship! That doesn’t including the other boats in the fleet. Lastly I simply want to ask, is it coincidence that the map maker used shades of red that are somewhat close? If we don’t examine the data carefully we miss important details. Now I’m not calling anyone a liar, but I just wanted to say a quote to finish up… “facts don’t lie… but liars use facts”
It is important be critical of maps and i agree that maps lie. But i also know that maps represent some type of reality to different people. In addition, i also believe nobody is non political or less political. We all live in connection to each other and we all take up a space in society and on land. The physical social connection to each is very much a political one. We can not escape being political. The volunteers in the US army are mostly working class people that have economic pressures that limit their window of opportunity in our nation. To say that there is true freedom of choice is a reductionist argument that limits our ability to see choices being made not only by individuals only but by our social conditions. It is truly a complex issue to conduct social science and critical thinking is a skill. Maps help us lie, but also help us transfer information,
Your comment on the American culture of paranoia reminded me of the opposite word used (and I think invented) by Prof. Nader, "trustanoia." It basically means that society is too trusting and we are taught to trust from an early age in school (e.g. falling back & trusting that your friend will catch you). In that way, we come to believe or trust that people will act in our best interest and trust that they will protect us, trusting that our security is at risk and that it's essential that we maintain a large military presence around the world...
US Military bases around the World.
7 comments:
When I read the Lutz piece, "Warmaking," it really hit home just how much this military complex is integrated into our society. So many Americans are ignorant or indifferent to the size of the military and its pervasiveness throughout the globe. What's worse is that those who do know or even have some vague idea of the military's magnitude tend to buy into this the rhetoric of necessary defense/surveillance.I recently broached this topic with a friend whose father served in the Gulf War and Iraq war. I was not really surprised but quite saddened by the simplicity of his argument as to why military downsizing is not a viable option. As he put it, "Sure it's [the military] everywhere but no one wants to sacrifice security." Ironically, I think that this commitment to security has bred an increasing sense of insecurity throughout the world. At the same time it has created an American culture of paranoia. (Just look at how many films/books carry plot lines of terrorist attacks).
Yeah I love your idea of this strange relationship of Security and Insecurity in American common sense. There is a production of fear that goes on in the nation. News stations being the main culprits. The Terrorist menace is reproduced again and again as this illogical evil foe 'out there' in the countries not connected to the "west". Americans in their produced insecurity believe that security will be delivered by military intervention abroad.
I think the key question to challange people on is "what are the affects of the military on our security?" Considering how much larger Al Qaeda and other radical terrorist groups are after the wars, considering the frustration and anger that emerges from invading other countries, it seems entirely implausible that today is somehow a "safer" world than 10 years ago.
Clearly there are a host of other questions we can ask, but often false ideas fall apart within their own value-system rather than being corrected with another.
I cringe when I see a military recruiting poster, especially when they target poor communities. The billions unnecessarily spent over the years could have provided access to higher education so that these recruits would never have to join in the first place.
Cecilia’s comment on security and insecurity strikes a familiar cord – Colin Powell as the ‘lone wolf’ in the weeks leading up to the invasion of Iraq. His argument - initially forceful, eventually mute – was precisely that exercising military power against an Arab nation that has committed no act of provocation could only fuel hatred and further increase insecurity. Of course, he eventually went on to give that now infamous presentation at the U.N….and we are still in Iraq.
I don’t think Gabe’s question will be answered in the near future. I think it will take some time for America to realize that it is our dependence on the military as our “ideology”, our “identity”, our source of power and security, that has, in fact, given rise to a global climate of insecurity.
Cecilia's mentioning of the Lutz article sparked my memory. It seems that America has an addicition to the military-industrial complex that characterizes the modern Western world. As is the case of any addiction, our government has indulged more and more in weapons and wars with the hope that we will finally be free from the addiction. America has already "overdosed" on the military, and perhaps people are being rudely awakened that to continue to indulge is not the answer. Sure, a military is absolutely necessary, but when the military starts controlling socio-economic trends and makes education cuts necessary, it has gone beyond its use.
As Zeke mentioned, I am always shaken up when I see how the military targets poorer communities and represents itself as the "best available option" in many cases.
I want to point out that I am not a very political person… I think we should keep in mind that the branches of the United States Military are all filled with volunteers. At the present time no one is being forced into a draft, which keeps us free to attend Berkeley…
Leaving opinions aside, the topic of discussion seems like it is swaying off topic slightly. This map, “US military bases around the world” can easily give the perspective of the United States as having an imperialistic grasp over a good portion of the world. However, I think there is some key information that we don’t have. First off, there is no date… this could very well be a projection of the United States influence during the Gulf War… I think it is because there would be more of an influence of troops in Afghanistan if it were taking place in sometime close to the present day. Secondly, the range of data is not very well displayed. If there are less than a thousand troops within a country, most likely the military occupation is almost insignificant. I may not be correct in saying this, but I think the lightly colored red countries should be discredited. In many ways a 1000+ troops is seems somewhat indistinct… on an aircraft carrier alone, there are close to 5000 personnel on board… that is just one ship! That doesn’t including the other boats in the fleet. Lastly I simply want to ask, is it coincidence that the map maker used shades of red that are somewhat close? If we don’t examine the data carefully we miss important details. Now I’m not calling anyone a liar, but I just wanted to say a quote to finish up… “facts don’t lie… but liars use facts”
It is important be critical of maps and i agree that maps lie. But i also know that maps represent some type of reality to different people. In addition, i also believe nobody is non political or less political. We all live in connection to each other and we all take up a space in society and on land. The physical social connection to each is very much a political one. We can not escape being political. The volunteers in the US army are mostly working class people that have economic pressures that limit their window of opportunity in our nation. To say that there is true freedom of choice is a reductionist argument that limits our ability to see choices being made not only by individuals only but by our social conditions. It is truly a complex issue to conduct social science and critical thinking is a skill. Maps help us lie, but also help us transfer information,
Your comment on the American culture of paranoia reminded me of the opposite word used (and I think invented) by Prof. Nader, "trustanoia." It basically means that society is too trusting and we are taught to trust from an early age in school (e.g. falling back & trusting that your friend will catch you). In that way, we come to believe or trust that people will act in our best interest and trust that they will protect us, trusting that our security is at risk and that it's essential that we maintain a large military presence around the world...
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