Nobody does dumb #^&#^&#^&#^& like a desperate Floridaman and I worry that we have yet to see the really stupid, like pulling out of Korea, Japan, EU, etc.
Trump is demanding that South Korea pay roughly 400% more in 2020 to cover the cost of keeping US troops on the peninsula, a congressional aide and an administration official confirmed to CNN.
Barry R McCaffrey
"Trump will destroy deterrence in the Pacific Rim. This stupid act will directly embolden KJU as US Forces withdraw. Likely that both South Korea and Japan would create their own nuclear deterrent capability. I fear Trump sees a Nobel prize. He may get war."
Below is a great explanation of why we have forward bases on every continent. And the stable genius comment is 
COL (USA Ret) Michael Spears 마이클 스피어스
@MP_Spears
The stable genius has no understanding of the concept of National Power (DIME). If he played the old board game RISK he might gain a simplistic understand that forward basing = strategic options and why one cannot “get their from here” without a forward presence.
A former PACOM commander once said “virtual presence = no presence” That is so true. The loss of strategic platforms such as the ROK or NATO would cause massive loss of life when we have to conduct a forced entry operation. Further, we do not have the strategic lift capability, in the form of C-17’s, RORO Cargo Ships or sufficient capability to re-enter a sea area of OPs given the Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD) capability of some players in the Pacific.
Mr Trump. Do you even know the cost of a single Carrier Strike group?
Quick estimate: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier : $6.2 billion
7 Arleigh Burke-class destroyer : $12.6 billion (7 x $1.8 billion)
3 Ticonderoga-class cruiser : $3 billion (3 x $1 billion)
2 Virginia Class subs: 6.4 Billion
48 x F35 : $4.281 billion (48 x $ 89.2 million)
4 E-2C Hawkeye : $704 million (4 x $176 million)
5 E/A-18G Growler : $350 million (5 x $70 million)
2 C-2A Greyhound : $80 million (2 x $40 million)
12 MH-60S Seahawk : $336 million (12 x $28 million)
16 MH-60R Seahawk : $672 million (16 x $42 million)
This does not include personnel, fuel, basing, etc or the cost of needed strategic lift, Strategic Attack (since you seem hell bent of giving up our forward bases), the number of strategic strike systems will have to go up significant to have sufficient sortie capability.
There is so much more that I have not included, but the point is that the value of forward basing more than offsets any perceived costs. And they are perceived costs.
Eventually the ROK would defeat the DPRK, but at what cost to the worlds economies. The enablers the U.S. brings to the battlefield that matter most, intel, logistics, Air Support are critical to the fight. Trump like Nero would happily let the 12th largest Econ get destroyed.
I should note, the same logic applies to all our international relationship where we have forward basing and treaties, including NATO, etc.
Please forgive my strategic rant. I just feel that Trump does not understand the 2nd/3rd order effects for business, much less the more complex and dangerous elements of National Power.
Linear Mode
