Military Bases: Resistance and Closure

World BEYOND War (WBW) (https://worldbeyondwar.org/) is an international organization whose mission is to end the institution of war in the world. One aspect of it is the ‘no bases’ campaign, which opposes foreign military bases around the world. The website includes an interactive map, showing all the countries with foreign military bases and information about the pollution they cause, soldier impunity for crimes, and other problems the bases cause. Needless to say, the United States has more foreign bases by far than any other nation. We are now researching resistance movements by people who live in the area where bases are located. We will assist their efforts to publicize the serious, ongoing problems the bases cause. The U.S., which has at least 877 military bases in 95 countries, claims that it needs these bases for ‘national security’, when the evidence is clear that they are major tools of U.S. imperialism and to assist it in achieving and maintaining its unjust, hegemonic goals throughout the world. This presentation will focus on specific actions that can be taken to first, select bases that are most likely to be closed, based on local resistance, and the general attitude of the government of the host country toward the United States; some countries had ‘friendly’ (read: more compliant) governments at the time the U.S. established a base there. Secondly, the presentation will discuss strategies and tactics that can be used to close a base. Bases closures due to pressure have been extremely rare, but they have happened. Social movement construction for this purpose will be detailed. Additionally, the U.S. has, at times, opted to close bases that were no longer deemed necessary for its geopolitical goals. This discussion will also include ways in which bases can be repurposed by the host government for peaceful purposes that will benefit the people in that country: this might include low-income housing, shopping centers, manufacturing plants, farmland, residential neighborhoods and many other possibilities. Attendees will leave with specific steps they can take to assist local peoples in working to remove foreign military bases from their soil. Both speakers are affiliated with World BEYOND War. Robert Fantina serves on the Board of Directors and Mohammed Abunahel is employed as the bases researcher. He is originally from the Gaza Strip.