Text 16655, 94 rader
Skriven 2011-04-11 00:26:55 av Michiel van der Vlist (2:280/5555)
  Kommentar till text 16560 av Robert Bashe (2:2448/44)
Ärende: Names will never hurt me...
===================================
Hello Robert,

On Friday April 08 2011 13:27, you wrote to me:

 MV>> This whole "support the local economy" was a myth. When the Americans
 MV>> left after the end of the cold war, not many were sorry to see them
 MV>> go.

 RB> Maybe where you are. But in Datteln, the locals did everything but beg
 RB> the British not to close the base. Unfortunately, they still did.

We were discussing American basis, not British.

 RB>>> Nowadays, they're mainly used for military operations in NATO,
 RB>>> with the exception of Ramstein in Germany, which is also used as
 RB>>> a staging area for operations in the middle east and Afghanistan.

 MV>> The Germans were not in a postion to say "no" were they?

Note: "were".

 RB> Of course the could have. They're a soverign country nowadays.

They were not when those bases were etsablished.

 RB>  But why should they do something that would damage their own economy?

Why would people stop going to church and throw away their ticket to heaven?

I can think of a number oif reasons:

o They stoped believing iun heaven,

o They still believe in heaven but now believe it is overrated and not worth
o the effort of getting up early on Sunday.

o They also believe in Hell and now believe Hell may not be so bad if that
o is where they can be with their fiends again.

So regarding your question about economy:

o Maybe they no longer believe this "a US base is good for the local economy"
o story any more.

o Maybe they do believe it is good for the local economy, but they no longer
o believe that what is good ofr the local economy is also good for them.
o Maybe they believe there is more to quality of life than local economy.

o Maybe they think a bit less of local economy will increase their quality
o of life. Ask the people who live near a big busy airfield whjat they think
o about that theory.

 MV>> Nah.. Ramstein is not convenient for its medical facilities, but a
 MV>> convenient "debriefing area"...

 RB> Tell it to the Germans and the Americans. I don't make the decisions.
 RB> But check the distances before you say anything.

Why were the freed hostages first flown to Ramstein to be debriefed. They wdid
not need urgent medical treatment. There was no reason hy they could not be
flown to the US to be debriefed there....  Except that...

... when something went drastically wrong durin the debriefing, they would be
conveniently quaranteed at a safe distance from the USA.

Ramstein is not favorite because it is close to the Middle east, it is favorite
because it is at a safe distance from the US.

 BA>>>> Does the US really need military installations in Australia?

 RB>>> Probably for the same reason as in Europe. It's a great staging
 RB>>> area for anything that develops in the southern Pacific: plenty
 RB>>> of room, friendly, stable government.

 MV>> If they need to control that region.. yes.

 RB> Why? You can't imagine a threat to the USA arising in the region, one
 RB> that it would be best to know in advance? Who thought Somialia and
 RB> Afghanistan could be a threat to the USA before Osama bin Laden?

Confusing cause and effect again. Osama Bin Laden did not become a threat until
AFTER thge US started meddling in Afghanisten. OBL was trained by the US to
fight afainst the Russians.

 RB> No need to "control" the region, but definitely one to know what is
 RB> going on. And that's something you can't do from a base in Kansas.

You can't do that from a base in Germany either.


Cheers, Michiel

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