Chalmers Johnson...

Ch. 6
Now that the Cold War has ended, the United States has new motives for establishing military bases around the world which include: global military dominance, interception of both local and international communications, control of oil sources, employment and financial guarantee for U.S. military personnel, and securing this personnel with comfort and entertainment around the world.

"Today, one could throw a dart at a map of the world and it would likely land within a few hundred miles of a quietly established U.S. intelligence-gathering operation..." p. 155

"The fatal flaw of Echelon is that it is operated by the intelligence and military establishments of the main English-speaking countries in total secrecy and hence beyond any kind of accountability to representatives of the people it claims to be protecting." p. 167

"When the Afghan conflict is over, we will not leave Central Asia. We have long-term plans and interests in this region." p. 185

Ch. 7
Since its post-Soviet Union establishment of an "empire of bases", the United States' presence in countries around the world have served as self-perpetuating imperial initiatives and motivators of war.

"The Korean War, though ended in stalemate, nonetheless projected us onto the Asian mainland." p. 189

"Our 1999 war against Serbia, our two wars with Iraq, and our war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan allowed us to expand our empire of overseas bases into the broad southern Eurasian region..." p. 189

"The most astonishing aspect of the German downsizing, however, is the number of bases the United States decided to retain..." p. 198

Ch. 8
The United States continues to attempt to justify its occupation of Iraq with unsubstantiated claims, while more convincing reasons for its military presence in Iraq and the Middle East include the need to protect oil fields, the influence of Israeli interests, and the need to influence U.S. politics at the time of Bush's election.

"The permanent deployment of American solider, sailors, and airmen whose culture, lifestyles, wealth, and physical appearance guarantee conflicts with the peoples who live in the Middle East, is irrational in terms of any cost-benefit analysis." p. 253

The lack of evidence that there are any weapons of mass destruction left in Iraq...

The lack of strong evidence that Saddam Hussein had ties to al-Qaeda...