United States military deployments

Statements by U.S. military and government

A longstanding justification for maintaining military installations worldwide for the United States is that a military presence abroad by the U.S. promotes and strengthens democracy.^[3]

Statements by others

According to Hermann and Kegley, military interventions have boosted democracy in other nations.^[4] The majority of academics, however, concur with professor of international politics Abraham Lowenthal that American efforts to spread democracy have been "negligible, often counterproductive, and only occasionally positive."^[4][5][6]

JoAnn Chirico believes that, as of 2014, the U.S. military presence and installations are often considered responsible for suppressing democracy in countries such as Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kuwait, Niger, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.^[3]

In her 1979 essay, "Dictatorships and Double Standards", Jeane Kirkpatrick argued that although the United States should encourage democracy, it should be understood that premature reforms may cause a backlash that could give the Communists an opportunity to take over. For this reason, she considered it legitimate to support non-communist dictatorships, adding that a successful and sustainable democratic process is likely to be a long-term process in many cases in the Third World. The essence of the so-called Kirkpatrick Doctrine is the use of selective methods to advance democracy in order to contain the wave of communism.^[7]

Americas

More information Jurisdiction, Total ...

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
United States (Contiguous United States)	1,066,157	357,229	279,931	245,091	139,163	35,791	8,952
Alaska	20,040	9,652	35	8,453	10	1,880	10
Puerto Rico	759	114	33	24	12	575	1
Guantanamo Bay	567	126	410	–	24	7	–
Honduras	298	173	1	115	8	1	–
Canada	152	25	37	70	12	6	2
Greenland	143	–	–	117	–	–	26
other	710	153	142	73	280	59	3
Total	1,088,826	367,472	280,589	253,943	139,509	38,319	8,994

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East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Pacific Ocean

More information Jurisdiction, Total ...

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Japan	52,793	2,061	21,251	12,326	17,023	22	110
Hawaii	43,935	18,052	12,249	5,303	6,631	1,529	171
South Korea	22,844	14,101	361	8,129	181	1	71
Guam	6,989	194	3,886	2,408	177	323	1
Australia	315	50	78	155	24	3	5
Singapore	234	16	172	24	12	10	–
other	456	135	60	58	190	13	–
Total	127,566	34,609	38,057	28,403	24,238	1,901	358

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Europe

More information Jurisdiction, Total ...

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Germany	34,547	20,965	412	12,562	418	10	180
Italy	12,332	3,955	3,516	4,776	62	1	22
United Kingdom	10,046	225	273	9,426	52	14	56
Spain	3,627	27	3,163	399	37	1	–
Belgium	1,060	548	90	386	33	–	3
Netherlands	416	118	30	221	14	32	1
Greece	415	13	371	25	6	–	–
Poland	329	188	100	31	10	–	–
Portugal	224	5	46	154	18	1	–
Romania	147	26	101	10	10	–	–
other	627	141	70	173	237	5	1
Total	63,770	26,211	8,172	28,163	897	64	263

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West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Africa, and Indian Ocean

More information Jurisdiction, Total ...

Jurisdiction	Total	Army	Navy	USAF	USMC	USCG	USSF
Bahrain	3,368	16	2,809	19	218	306	–
Turkey	1,713	122	6	1,554	31	–	–
Diego Garcia	229	–	229	–	–	–	–
Kuwait	210	181	3	17	9	–	–
Qatar	188	54	6	100	9	–	19
Egypt	179	131	8	20	20	–	–
Saudi Arabia	170	73	14	62	21	–	–
United Arab Emirates	130	27	19	32	52	–	–
other	1,173	327	89	119	638	–	–
Total	7,360	931	3,183	1,923	998	306	19

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Unspecified