Wars

The world has 192 countries or independent states. All of these , except Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea, have diplomatic relations with the United States. U.S. military troops are located in 135 countries. The United States has troops in 70 percent of the world’s countries.

The Iraq war and the Afghanistan war are not part of the defense budget; they are appropriations. In December 2007 Congress approved $70 billion more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to a study by the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, Congress has now approved nearly $700 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, since 2001. This means the twin conflicts are now more costly to American taxpayers than the war in Vietnam, which in inflation-adjusted dollars, ran to $670 billion. Currently the defense department is planning on deployment lasting another 20 to 30 years.

According to the Department of Defense, the military has more than 600,000 individual buildings and structures, at more than 6,000 locations, on more than 30 million acres. Most of these are in the United States. 96 of them are in U.S. territories around the globe, and 702 of them are in foreign countries. The figure of 702 foreign military installations is too low, for it does not include installations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar, and Uzbekistan, so a better estimate would be closer to 1,000. The world has 192 countries or independent states. All of these , except Bhutan, Cuba, Iran, and North Korea, have diplomatic relations with the United States. All of these countries except one (Vatican City) are members of the United Nations. U.S. military troops are located in 135 countries. The United States has troops in 70 percent of the world’s countries. Regular troop strength ranges from a low of 1 in Malawi to a high of 74,796 in Germany. World War II, ended in 1945. Not counting Bosnia or Kosovo, the US military has about 90,000 (as of 2005) personnel in Europe. The Korean War ended in 1953, but we still have about 26,477 (as of 2005) troops in South Korea.

Dick Cheney (1984): Iraq Would Be a "Quagmire"

Within this context the U.S. should begin by brining all troops in non-combat zones back to America. There are 1,168,195 troops on active duty in the United States and its territories: The contiguous United States – 958,215, Transients – 47,391, Hawaii – 35,810, Guam – 3,315, Puerto Rico – 769, and Alaska – 17,989. The founding fathers thought standing armies were a threat to liberty. The number of active duty troops within the United States and its territories should also be cut, probably to one thousand or less. Then we should begin an orderly, cautious, and safe withdraw of our troops from combat zones. Iraq currently has around 170,000 troops, while Afghanistan has about 19,500 troops. It should be possible to bring those troops home within five to ten years.