Bulgaria wants US troops on their soil permanently. We have facilities to rotate troops through for exercises, but Bulgaria would feel better with a more continuous presence, apparently.
But the deeply nuanced community in Bulgaria is wise in the ways of oppression:
If an agreement is reached, anti-war activist Brian Becker, argues it would surrender Sofia’s power to the US government, as troops pose “a threat to the national sovereignty of the people of Bulgaria because they have foreign military bases, and it incorporates Bulgaria, makes it more secure as part of an American political, economic as well as military formation. You really can't be a free country and free people and have foreign troops on your soil,” he told RT.
Shoot. With a name like that, the guy is probably just one of our idiots abroad. Actually, I don't even know if he's over there.
Hmmm. Let me pause for a quick Google search. Hey, a man by that name is part of the global communist group International ANSWER! Fancy that.
The article gives no reason why Becker was chosen to dominate the article in complaining about the Bulgarian request. Indeed, Becker argues that a permanent deployment would be a threat to Russia.
Really.
Oh wait, RT is a news outfit in Russia. Birds of a feather, I guess.
Anyway. The idea that an American troop presence contributes to lack of freedom should be obviously nonsense considering about 70 years of data.
Indeed, countries without an American military presence after telling us to leave may reconsider our absence once we've left.
Why would the Philippines do that? Because bigger countries actually a threat to freedom prefer American troops to just be somewhere else:
State-run media in Beijing denounced the agreement and used language that was unusually evocative, reflecting China’s growing frustration with the Philippines.
The China Daily referred to the Philippines as a troublemaker seeking a confrontation with China, and accused it of opportunism and trickery. It also described Philippines Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario’s public support of Japan building up its military forces as pathetic.
Huh. I guess that smiling charm offensive is nonoperative.
Not everyone is an idiot.
UPDATE: Seriously, someone explain why International ANSWER is so hot for Russia. Has nobody told the ANSWER people that communism fell in Russia? They are aware of that, right? They're aware that they are simply standing tall for a run-of-the-mill autocrat, aren't they?
