Across the world the US operates almost 900 military bases. Each one carries its own story of the expansion of empire, occupation, sexual violence, and environmental destruction.
Explore Military Bases Worldwide: World BEYOND War “Military Empires” Map
- US Pacific Command, housing over 200 of the military's 800-plus foreign bases, accounts for 22% of the Pentagon's energy use.
- Energy consumption in operations and installations, along with resulting greenhouse gas emissions and financial costs, continue to rise with the US's aggressive stance towards China.
- Military presence in Guam led to the identification of multiple areas with severe environmental damage from toxins, near US Navy and Air Force bases.
- Okinawans affected by the US military: 450,000 people (a third of prefecture's population) facing polluted drinking water, the worst environmental contamination in the island's history.
Sources:
- Military Housing: Strengthened Oversight Needed to Make and Sustain Improvements to Living Conditions
- Climate Resilience & ‘Genuine Security’ in Guåhan/Guam
- US Military Bases Are Poisoning Okinawa
The US Military’s Presence in Vieques
In 1941, the US Navy acquired Vieques– a small island off the coast of mainland Puerto Rico. Most of the island was made off-limits for the 10,000-person population, who were forcibly removed from restricted areas. Vieques was a consistently exploited site by the U.S. empire– prior to 1941, it was a site of sugar production. Originally, the intended use was similar to the Pearl Harbor base that the U.S. occupied in Hawai’i. It became a bomb testing site instead, and for over 60 years, 3 million pounds of napalm, depleted uranium, lead, and other toxic chemicals were used on the island. Residents are over 280% more likely to have lung cancer, and there is still no hospital on the island. The U.S. Jones Act restricts resources by forcing all ships bringing cargo to Puerto Rico to be US owned, operated, built, and crewed. The Naval base was removed after mass protests in 2003, but the Navy has still not completed its clean-up of what is now a wildlife reserve.
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Cop City and Domestic Warfare
Cop City is the name for a police training facility in the Weelenau Forest– stolen Muskogee land, outside of the city of Atlanta, Georgia. The forest is absolutely critical for Atlanta’s ecosystem, having been referred to as one of the “lungs” of the city due to its crucial role in maintaining air quality, flooding protection, wildlife, and cooling impacts. The proposed training facility is intended to train cops in urban warfare techniques, primarily to be used against Black and Brown working-class communities and anyone deemed criminal by the State. The proposed facility includes mock-city streets, towers, bomb simulations, and firing ranges. According to the original proposal, 43% of the training will be for police not based in Atlanta, including training with the Israeli Occupation Forces in repression and dissent tactics. Cop City is a critical case study in the role of the war economy in environmental destruction, at home and abroad.
Learn more:
- 5 things you need to know about Cop City
- From Gaza to Atlanta, There is No Climate Justice on Occupied Land - In These Times
- Stop Cop City activists link GILEE program to Palestinian genocide
- STOP COP CITY from Atlanta to Palestine: A Syllabus | by Writers Against the War on Gaza
- Atlanta’s “Cop City” and the Vital Fight for Urban Forests | The New Republic