The United States currently maintains military bases in England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and several other countries. American taxpayers spend at least 120 billion dollars a year to defend Europe and Japan.
Europe and Japan are as wealthy as America. The Europeans and the Japanese are capable of providing for their own defense, and they are adult enough to decide on their own defense needs. They should be able to decide what threat is presented to them by Russia or China, under present or future leaders. And they should have the responsibility to prepare and pay for their own defense.
The royal families of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait can afford to hire mercenaries to defend them. It is not so clear that they are smart enough to figure out who threatens them. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait provided tens of billions of dollars to Iraq to build up its military during the Iran-Iraq war. The Iraqi military forces that they paid for were soon turned against them, with an invasion of Kuwait and aggressive posturing toward Saudi Arabia.
The leaders of the U.S. government are not that much smarter. During the Iran-Iraq war, our government also aided Iraq. Ronald Reagan ordered the U.S. government to ship one plane-load of weapons every week to Iraq from 1983 to 1989.
In 1981 Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger offered Red China a 20 billion dollar line of credit for the purchase of American weapons.
Bringing Our Troops Home would save 120 billion dollars a year.
The Constitution authorizes the Federal Government to provide for the national defense. It does not authorize America to act as a world policeman.
Vote Libertarian for National Independence and Non-Intervention!