Do you honestly not understand what allowing unfriendly nations to have proximate bases ultimately means? What was the Cuban missile crisis about, anyway?
I don’t want war either, which is exactly why we don’t want enemy bases nearby.
I fully agree with you both and your concerns are very reasonable.
The Monroe Doctrine is a great thing and should be enforces but to what point? Are you ready to sacrifice yourself in a nuclear war over it? Or maybe you want your children to fight and die in South America?
That is a diplomatic issue. In order for other countries to recognize US security concerns you need to make US government recognize theirs.
The problem is the US government believes that US armor in Estonia 300 yards from the Russian border or USN in China Sea are a good thing but Russian bombers in Venezuela more than thousand miles away from US are inconceivable.
Something is wrong with this way of thinking.
A capability for abstract thinking and reflection is that make human different from primate. Imagine yourself in Russian or Chinese boots and the solution for insecurities would be found.
We can only dream to see neocons to be above primates but they aren’t and they are in charge of foreign policy.