Vicenza and the 173rd
vicenzatownhall Joey Papa corrected the blog and pointed out that the whole airborne outfit was not hooked into AFRICOM, but just SETAF, some 300 soldiers in the office there. I thank him for the comment, but I think the important point is that the 3300 troops with the 173rd and their 3300 dependents and their 1600 civilian helpers are still there, no matter who they take orders from. And, as Howard Zinn asks in an earlier post, what are they doing there? Why do we have a major military base in Vicenza, or anywhere else for that matter. How would we feel if George Bush, in one of his final acts as Commander-in-Chief, sold Fort Dix to the Italian Army and they stationed there 3300 troops, 3300 dependents, and 1600 civilian helpers. And they appointed a General to be in charge of their North American Command? Hmmm. By the way, the picture here is of Vicenza’s City Hall, redesigned by Palladio. The picture in the last post was the Villa Rotundo, also by Palladio - the inspiration for Jefferson’s Rotunda at the University of Virginia.
Vicenza is now in Africa
villa-rotundo The Army has announced that the 173rd Airborne Brigade stationed in Vicenza is now part of AFRICOM, the new military command for the entire continent of Africa. That brigade is comprised of 3300 soldiers, and, using the usual ratios, that means the base also houses 3300 dependents and 1600 civilian employees. If you go to the SETAF website, you’ll see what they’re all up to. And if you click on the “welcome video” button in the upper left hand corner of the website, you’ll get some idea of where the money goes. As you watch the video, intended for personnel assigned to Vicenza, keep saying to yourself ”I’m paying for this.”
Vicenza in Italy is part of the American Empire
In this video, Howard Zinn talkes to the citizens of Vicenza, who have repeatedly expressed their overwhelming opposition to the existence of a US military base in their town. Zinn talks about Vincenza, about Italy, and about the whole world.
Hello Pentagon! Anybody home?
Today it’s been thirteen days since I asked the Pentagon (and they acknowledged receipt of) a simple question: why do we have so many overseas military bases? We’re still waiting for an answer.
Hello? Pentagon?
Today it’s been six days since I asked the Pentagon (and they acknowledged receipt of) a simple question: why do we have so many overseas military bases? We’re still waiting for an answer.
Waiting for the Pentagon
You’ll recall that I e-mailed the Pentagon last week and asked why this country has so many overseas military bases. On November 12, they said they were working on their response and would get back to me. I’m still waiting to hear. Four days so far.
Today’s NY Times lead editorial tells us that “between 2004 and 2014 American bases abroad are expected to decline from 850 to 550. The number of troops permanently based overseas will drop to 180,000, down from 450,000 in the 1980’s.” Keep in mind that for every uniformed serviceperson overseas, there is at least one non-uniformed civilian dependent or employee also on the base. That means that even after the shrink, we will have well more than a third of a million Americans on overseas military bases. That’s a lot of PX’s.
It’s about The Rich and The Empire.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said that “the rich are different from you and me.” He said that in the time of Robber Barons and Newport “cottages.” That period ended with the Great Depression. Now we’re seeing such inequity again, only worse.
This is a blog about the inequity of incomes and wealth in this country - about the huge differences between day-to-day life for the rich and for the others. It is also about The American Empire - that huge elephant in the living room that no one seems to want to acknowledge or talk about, and that is a major source of that great wealth. I invite you to look at some of the articles I’ve found interesting on the subject and to add your own comments as well. And please feel free to contact me directly at ebmeyer6w@comcast.net Walter Ebmeyer. http://richaredifferent.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/wce.jpg
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