The U.S. has 5,423 troops in Serbia, including Kosovo. Hey, Slobodan Milosevic is gone. He was arrested by his own countrymen. Enough is enough, already.
The U.S. has a force of 5,397 troops in Saudi Arabia defending the wealthy tyrants in that desert country. Why should ordinary Americans pay with blood and hard-earned money to protect Saudi Arabia?
The U.S. has 2,123 troops in Spain, 2,105 in Turkey, 1,677 in Iceland, 1,598 in Belgium, 1,112 in Bahrain, 997 in Portugal, 774 in the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, 670 in the Netherlands, 627 in Diego Garcia and 517 in Greece.
There are smaller U.S. troop commitments in Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, Uganda, Russia and 12 other countries that formerly comprised the Soviet Union.
Why aren't we talking about bringing any of these troops home?
This would be a sensible way to cut military spending. This would be a sensible way to get back to our constitutional republic. This would be a sensible way to stop being the policeman of the world.
But no … there is no end in sight to this madness. We have not learned the lessons of every other empire in the history of the world that spread itself too thin, that over-committed its resources, that didn't understand that every fight is not its fight.
Are there serious threats to American security in the world? You bet there are. But we can never be prepared for them with our military forces spread far and wide across the globe. In fact, this is insurance that we won't be ready for the next war, the next flashpoint, when it inevitably comes.
I say bring the troops home now.
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Joseph Farah is editor and chief executive officer of WorldNetDaily.com and writes a daily column.