A December 26, 2019 article in the Turkish daily Yeni Akit, titled "There Is No Place Left That They Have Not Messed Up! The 'Great Satan' Is Occupying The World With Bases" read: "The U.S., which brings disasters to the places it sees with drunken shouts of 'we are bringing humanity!' and is turning the Middle East into a place of fire, has 800 military bases around the world." The article gives a list of the major U.S. military bases in the Middle East and elsewhere.[1]
Turkish media have been discussing the U.S. bases in Turkey following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's statement in a December 15, 2019 interview that "if it needs to be shut down, we will shut down Incirlik [Airbase]. If it needs to be shut down, we will shut down Kürecik [Radar Station]" (see MEMRI TV Clip No. 7661 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: We Have The Authority To Shut Down U.S.-Run Airbase, Radar Station In Turkey; If Measures Such As Sanctions Are Taken Against Us, We Will Respond As Necessary, December 15, 2019).
Following is the text of the Yeni Akit article:
"There Are About 180,000 Military Personnel At These Bases, With 60,000 To 70,000 In The Middle East"
"In recent years, despite having bases covering regions including Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, the U.S. has approximately 800 bases around the world, some of which are small radar stations, others are the size of cities. Maintaining these bases costs 200 billion dollars. According to data from the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. bases cost 749 billion dollars in 2018.
"The U.S. bases include all U.S. military structures connected to the Department of Defense, from enemy observation points to naval supply points, from training bases to radar bases. There are about 180,000 military personnel at these bases, with 60,000 to 70,000 in the Middle East. These numbers become more important when it is understood that they are found primarily in 17 countries that have permanent bases, and approximately 70 countries in total."
"In The List Of Countries With U.S. Bases, Turkey Comes Ninth With Nine Military Structures"
"It appears that the basic reason why the number of U.S. bases is so high is that the U.S. rarely abandons a base that it establishes in a country. The U.S.'s Ramstein base in Germany is an example of this. This base, which the U.S. established in 1949 after the Second World War, still serves the U.S. Air Force and, with 53,000 personnel, it is the U.S.'s largest base outside of its territory.
"Aside from Ramstein, the U.S. has 87 more bases in Germany. Germany is also the country, aside from the U.S., that has the most U.S. bases. After Germany comes Japan with 86, South Korea with 64, Italy with 29, and the U.K. with 16. In the list of countries with U.S. bases, Turkey comes ninth with nine military structures. Incirlik Airbase is the largest and most well-known military structure in Turkey. There are about 2,500 personnel and units belonging to the U.S. Air Force at the base, which was established in the 1950s after Turkey joined NATO."
"The U.S.'s Colossal Bases That Are Spreading Around The World Are Frequently Protested"
"The U.S.'s colossal bases that are spreading around the world are frequently protested, with 70,000 people demonstrating in Okinawa, Japan in 2018 and thousands of people in front of Germany's Ramstein Airbase. According to data from the U.S. Department of Defense, while the capacity of the existing bases is 21 percent more than the need, 30 percent of the infrastructure of these bases is weak or collapsing. The annual cost of only the unused bases is more than $500 million.
"The large, permanent bases around the world are as follows:
"Afghanistan: Bagram Air Base, Camp Dwyer, Camp Leatherneck, FOB Delaram, Kandahar Int. Airport, Shindand Airbase.
"Bahrain: NRCC Bahrain, NSA Bahrain.
"Belgium: USAG Benelux, USAG Brussels.
"Bulgaria: Aitos Logistics Center, Bezmer Air Base, Graf Ignatievo Air Base, Novo Selo Range.
"Cuba: Guantanamo Bay.
"Djibouti: Camp Lemonnier.
"Germany: Campbell Barracks, Landstuhl Medical Center, NATO Base Geilenkirchen, Panzer Kaserne, Patrick Henry Village, Ramstein AB, Spangdahlem Air Base, USAG Ansbach, USAG Bamberg, USAG Baumholder, USAG Darmstadt, USAG Garmisch, USAG Grafenwoehr, USAG Heidelberg, USAG Hessen, USAG Hohenfels, USAG Kaiserslautern, USAG Mannheim, USAG Schweinfurt, USAG Stuttgart, USAG Wiesbaden.
"Greece: NSA Souda Bay.
"Greenland: Thule Air Base, Guam, Andersen AFB, Naval Base Guam, Naval Forces Marianas.
"Iraq: Camp Baharia, Camp Banzai, Camp Bucca, Camp Fallujah, Camp Taji, Camp Victory, COP Shocker, FOB Abu Ghraib, FOB Grizzly, FOB Sykes, Joint Base Balad, Victory Base Complex.
"Italy: Aviano AB, Camp Darby, Caserma Ederle, NAS Sigonella, NSA Gaeta, NSA La Maddalena, NSA Naples.
"Japan: Camp Courtney, Camp Foster, Camp Fuji, Camp Gonsalves, Camp Hansen, Camp Kinser, Camp Lester, Camp McTureous, Camp S.D. Butler, Camp Schwab, Camp Zama, Fleet Activities Okinawa, Fleet Activities Sasebo, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Fort Buckner, Kadena Air Base, MCAS Futenma, MCAS Iwakuni, Misawa Air Base, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Torii Station, Yokota Air Base, Yontan Airfield.
"Kosovo: Camp Bondsteel.
"Kuwait: Ali Al Salem Airbase, Camp Arifjan, Camp Buehring, Camp Doha, Camp New York, Camp Patriot, Camp Spearhead, Camp Virginia.
"Kyrgyzstan: Transit Center at Manas.
"The Netherlands: Joint Force Command, USAG Schinnen.
"Peru: Naval Medical Research Unit Six.
"Portugal: Lajes Field, Porto Riko, Fort Buchanan.
"Qatar: Al Udeid Air Base.
"Saudi Arabia: Eskan Village Air Base, King Abdul Aziz Air Base, King Fahd Air Base, King Khalid Air Base, Riyadh Air Base.
"Singapore: COMLOG WESTPAC.
"South Korea: Camp Carroll, Camp Casey, Camp Castle, Camp Eagle, Camp Hovey, Camp Humphreys, Camp Market, Camp Red Cloud, Camp Stanley, Fleet Activities Chinhae, K-16 Air Base, Kunsan Air Base, Osan Air Base, USAG Daegu, USAG Yongsan.
"Spain: Morn Air Base, Naval Station Rota.
"Turkey: Incirlik Air Base, Izmir Air Base.
"United Kingdom: RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Menwith Hill, RAF Mildenhall."
[1] Yeniakit.com.tr/haber/karistirmadiklari-yer-kalmadi-buyuk-seytan-dunyayi-uslerle-isgal-ediyor-979714.html, December 26, 2019.
