Trump says allies don’t pay ‘what they should’ for troop presence. Not quite.
By CONNOR O’BRIEN
09/26/16 11:04 PM EDT
While Trump is correct in that the U.S. does fund the stationing of troops throughout the world via its defense budget, key U.S. allies do share the budgetary load in exchange for the security benefits of hosting a U.S. military presence.
Japan allocated $1.7 billion this year “in direct support” for U.S. bases, and pays more than 90 percent “of the cost of the 25,500 Japanese nationals working at the bases.” South Korea, meanwhile, paid $866.6 million — about 40 percent — in 2014 to host the U.S. military, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Proponents of stationing troops in Asia and elsewhere also argue that spending on the U.S. military presence is an investment by helping to avert conflicts that could be far more costly in the
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