Rising calls for closing U.S. overseas bases
Sep 19, 2011

In a recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, there was evidence of rising support for closing American overseas military bases and bringing the soldiers home.

The September 13 hearing was called to consider the nomination of Ashton Carter to be Deputy Secretary of Defense, the number two position, replacing Bill Lynn.

Many of the Senators present used the occasion to criticize the “disaster” ahead for the Pentagon and U.S. security if the Pentagon budget is forced to swallow deep budget cuts.

But in little noticed asides, a liberal Democrat, a moderate Democrat and a conservative Republican all called for closing overseas bases.

Chairman Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, led off the chorus of the skeptics.  Levin argued:

“Now, given the budget pressures under which the department's going to be operating, one of the things that some of us believe we have to do is to take a look at the stationing and restationing of and the location of our military forces overseas where we've got large number of bases, and to consider both relocation and the restationing possibly of some of those military forces from overseas bases back to the United States. Is that on the table [to be considered as a reduction]?”

Ash Carter agreeably agreed that the issue was a potential candidate for cuts without committing to anything: “On the table.”