[gcruse]

If Russia made arrangements with Mexico to build a military base in Monterey, Mexico, for the purpose of forward staging in case of turmoil in South America, would the US protest?

[expatpat]

Damn right. I'm far from a bleeding heart, but I don't see any reason to poke the bear in the eye.

[Asclepius]

If Russia made arrangements with Mexico to build a military base in Monterey, Mexico, for the purpose of forward staging in case of turmoil in South America, would the US protest?

I suppose you've never heard of Cuba.

[xrp]

If Russia made arrangements with Mexico to build a military base in Monterey, Mexico, for the purpose of forward staging in case of turmoil in South America, would the US protest?

Maybe we can subcontract the Russians out and get them to patrol the Mexico-USA border for us since our "leaders" don't seem to be doing too great of a job defending our country.

[flashbunny]

Besides, Polish women are some of the most beautiful in the world. Our armed forces deserve the best!

[Live free or die]

Okay...picture the US of present strength...now picture us having less than a tenth of our current power. That's the bargaining position the Russains are in. For God's sake can someone PLEASE start acting like it was us who won the Cold War and not them!

I think its time for the Russians to sit down, shut up and recognize the limits of their power.

[piasa]

No, we'd go belly up and let them have Mexico like we did with Cuba, maybe sell out any Mexicans that didn't like it, like we did the Cubans.

[longtermmemmory]

cuban missile crisis?

However, Poland did just buy those nifty F-16s. Then again, it is good the be the worlds super power. It is nice when we act like it.

[Truth666]

Video of Russian chopper being shot down - Chechnya

This is what happens, in the only constellation of these two factors - US military instructing the army of a country bordering Russia - and hosting terrorists which infiltrate Russia with the latest portable equipment Russian chopper being shot down while patroling the border region with the Pankisi valley, Georgia http://www.maktab-al-jihad.com/videos/videos/helicopter.wmv

[not-an-ostrich]

Probably not if they had a history of responding to turmoil in South America.

[RinaseaofDs]

China established bases on both sides of the Panama Canal. Apparently, we're okay with that.

I think Poland is a different case that Hungary or Romania, but I take your points.

Poland wants to see itself less as a Central European ex-Soviet Satellite, and more as a Western European trading partner. Having our bases there would be economically beneficial, and not very different geographically then having them in Germany.

Politically, Germany is no longer allied with the US. We need to leave there soon. Only Italy would make as much sense and be politically paletable. I think there are practical problems with Italy that we wouldn't have with Poland.

I would think that operating out of Poland would be inexpensive compared to any other place in Western Europe.