US President Donald Trump again threatened on Wednesday to pull out of the NATO alliance after European partners reiterated their aversion to Washington using jointly operated bases to carry out operations in the Middle East.
Washington has eight persistent bases and 11 other military sites it can access across the Middle East, with an additional 31 persistent bases and 19 other military sites dotted across Europe.
None of these, however, are sovereign bases, which would allow the US to come and go at its discretion. Instead, the conditions of their use are governed by bilateral agreements that generally permit the US to use them for NATO purposes.
This makes Washington dependent on its allies for additional permission.
Here are the military bases that have been under US scrutiny or could be the next target of Trump’s ire.
One base in Trump’s cross hairs is the Italian base in Sigonella on Sicily. The outrage is due to an alleged ban on US military aircraft heading to Iran….
