Man, where were you in 1992?
At that time, the U.S. lease for its Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines was $360 million per year.
The US also paid the Philippine government an additional $180 million USD annually for Clark Air Force Base, along with many millions more for several smaller bases.
Each time the lease contracts were about to expire, the Philippine government demanded more money. In the end, when they asked for $850 million USD just for Subic Bay, the US decided to withdraw from the Philippines completely, which cost them billions.
By 1992, the US military presence in the Philippines had ended.
Not Iceland but Subic Bay in the Philippines.(Picture: viator)
In Iceland, the US and other NATO countries do not pay anything for their presence. They are allowed to use the port and airport infrastructure of this small island nation, giving them control over a strategically important part of the Atlantic Ocean.
NATO is an alliance between North American countries (the US and Canada) and most Western democracies, with Iceland located in a highly strategic position near its center.
Iceland’s membership in NATO secures the North Atlantic supply routes, which, in the event of a war, would be Europe’s lifeline.
We get all of this for free.
No comments:
Post a Comment