David Vine is the author of Island of Shame: The Secret
History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia and an associate
professor of anthropology at American University in Washington, DC.
His writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington
Post, the Guardian, Mother Jones, and the Chronicle of Higher
Education, among other publications. He lives in Washington,
DC.
Simon Winchester is the New York Times bestselling author of
The Professor and the Madman and The Men Who United the States. He
has been awarded an Order of the British Empire for his services to
literature and journalism.
“Who knew that we have more than eight hundred bases around the
world? And what do our troops do there when they’re not busy
intruding into other people's conflicts? Such questions lie at the
heart of David Vine's remarkable, impeccably written, and
clearheaded analysis of the costly madness that is America’s
current colonial-military complex. His book is a marvel, and all in
power should read it.”
—Simon Winchester, author of The Men Who United the States and The
Professor and the Madman
“A useful call to examine a question that gets far less attention
than it merits. . . . An entreaty for an explanation, a discussion
in plain language, about what the U.S. military is doing in so many
places in the world and why.”
—The Washington Post
“U.S. national security policy rests on the assertion that ‘forward
presence’ contributes directly to global peace and security. In
this powerful book, David Vine examines, dismantles, and disproves
that claim. He demonstrates that America's sprawling network of
overseas bases imposes costs—not only financial but also political,
environmental, and moral—that far exceed what the Pentagon is
prepared to acknowledge. Base Nation offers a devastating critique,
and no doubt Washington will try to ignore it. Citizens should
refuse to let that happen.”
—Andrew J. Bacevich, author of Limits of Power and Breach of
Trust
“Just looking at the maps in David Vine’s thoroughly documented
Base Nation will give you the chills—and seduce you into reading
the book. He's performed a kind of modern day treasure hunt,
finding and displaying our military forces all over the globe, and
then thinking deeply about whether their far-flung presence will
achieve or undermine the goal of fostering a peaceful and
prosperous world.”
—Dana Priest, coauthor of Top Secret America
“While I may not share all of David Vine’s conclusions, Base Nation
amply demonstrates what a growing number of people across the
political spectrum are concluding: the foundation of our military
belongs right here on American soil. In the U.S. Senate, I pushed
for greater investment in our bases here at home where our forces
have greater unrestricted training opportunities and can rapidly
deploy worldwide better prepared for combat. Pentagon officials and
members of Congress should pay close attention to Vine’s arguments
in favor of reducing our foreign presence in the interest of
strengthening the future security posture of U.S. military forces
and the fiscal health of our nation.”
—Kay Bailey Hutchison, former U.S. senator (R-TX) and chair of the
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Military Construction
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