by Stephen Lendman

Well over 1,000 global bases in around two-thirds of the world’s nations aren’t enough for Pentagon commanders.

They’re exploiting the hyped threat of terrorism to say they want more. A feature December 10 NYT Times report headlined “As It Fights ISIS, Pentagon Seeks String of Bases Overseas.”

The Times ignored its bloated budget and current global empire of bases, used as launching pads for war, threatening world peace. Additional ones assure more conflicts, escalated current ones, and the horror of possible global war with nuclear weapons, humanity’s greatest threat.

The Times disgracefully supports Washington’s imperial agenda, its endless wars of aggression against invented enemies. America’s last ones were Nazi Germany and imperial Japan, none since. Pentagon commanders lied, proposing new bases in Africa, Southwest and Central Asia, as well as the Middle East to combat ISIS - America’s ally, not enemy. The Times didn’t explain.

Instead, it claimed the bases will “be used for collecting intelligence and carrying out strikes against the terrorist group’s far-flung affiliates.”

Rubbish! They’ll be used as launching pads for endless wars, using ISIS and other terrorist groups as imperial foot soldiers, targeting independent governments Washington wants ousted, maintaining a state of fear to enlist public support for what demands condemnation.

On December 10, RT International cited Iraqi opposition political leader Hanan Fatlawi, saying Washington intends spearheading a 100,000 troop deployment to Western Iraq - comprised of 90,000 Saudi, Turkish, Egyptian, UAE, Qatari and Jordanian forces along with 10,000 US ones.

US Senator John McCain called the decision “non-negotiable” despite Prime Minister Abadi’s opposition. He has no say on the matter.

Claiming foreign troops will combat ISIS is a Big Lie. They’ll solidify Washington’s regional control, as well as counter Russia’s anti-terrorist campaign - with maybe a similar scheme in mind for Syria.

It’s up to Putin to respond appropriately, letting nothing stand in the way of his real war on terrorism, hopefully to be expanded cross-border with Iraq’s permission.

Washington’s so-called concern about the threat posed by ISIS relates to how effectively Russia is combating its forces, command posts, facilities and weapons caches - polar opposite US policy, supporting the scourge Moscow opposes.

Former Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey initiated the plan to expand America’s empire of bases. Carter referred to it shortly after he retired, saying:

“Because we cannot predict the future, these regional nodes - from Moron, Spain, to Jalalabad, Afghanistan - will provide a forward presence to respond to a range of crises, terrorist and other kinds. These will enable unilateral crisis response, counterterror operations, or strikes on high-value targets.”

Newly established bases will vary in size, staffing, and precise location, depending on invented regional threats. No real ones exist, only ones Washington creates, used as pretexts for endless wars of aggression.

ISIS, Al Qaeda, Jabhat al-Nusra, Boko Haram, and other terrorist groups are all US creations or offshoots. The Times didn’t explain - perpetuating the myth about Washington combating them.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs