Why military occupations in 148 other countries, but no occupation....

[eridani]

[Egalitarian Thug]

1. Proud to give this the first rec. n/t

[Ian62]

2. Excellent graphic

Whoever did it is to be congratulated.

[davidpdx]

3. That is mostly true

In 56 of those country there are 10 or less active duty personal present, so really it's more like 92. This probably came from a Ron Paul website.

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/sep/14/ron-paul/ron-paul-says-us-has-military-personnel-130-nation/

[byeya]

4. I think a better figure to use is the total number of US Military bases around the globe.

That number is higher, I've read, than 148.

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. Interesting you should ask. If anybody knows the specific number, they're not saying.

It is certainly far in excess of today's most commonly reported numbers, but the military itself (2010) cops to 662 foreign sites in 38 countries around the world. But even this number is not an accurate total, for example, none of the approx. 400 bases in Afghanistan are counted.

Neither are the 80 permanent bases in Iraq.

For comparison, Iraq is approximately the same size and population as California which boasts a total of 31 military bases, 33 if you count the Coast Guard, but this also count research, education, and medical. Put 50 more bases in California and you begin to have an idea.

[Victor_c3]

6. Good point

Hasn't the VA been trying to crack down on veteran homelesness? I've been in and out of the VA a lot since 2008 (I'm a disabled vet)and I see signs all over the place about it. I wonder how successful they've been in reducing homelesness. I need to do some reading...

The bank just took my house the other week (auction happened on the 14th of August). If someone wants to move in, go for it! (It's not as bad as it sounds, I moved when I lost my job in 2009 and couldn't afford to keep the house until the market improved. Even with renters I was still losing money every month and I just let it go).

[Wilms]

7. ^