US troops abroad: how much does it cost?

Some useful thoughts, over at StrategyPage:

Stationing American forces overseas has not always been as large a financial burden on the United States that it appeared to be. As the economies in West Germany and Japan recovered after World War II, they reached a point where the United States demanded, and got, payments from those countries to cover part of the expense of keeping American troops there. Since then, Japan and Germany have paid over a hundred billion dollars in such payments, and since 1991, even South Korea has made similar payments. . .

While the cost of maintaining troops overseas is high, it’s not as high as stated. The American troops would be paid and maintained wherever they were, and duty in Europe was always seen as a recruiting tool. . .

It’s an accounting nightmare calculating what the exact “additional cost” of having troops overseas is. But in the long run, it isn’t as high as the numbers thrown around in the media.

Posted by David on April 26, 2005 12:22 PM