Trump is furious with Spain for standing up to him and as Spain is the biggest culprit for being annoying amongst Nato countries, he is going to single us out.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham proposed choosing a particularly unruly country and to make an example of it.

How was this to be done? Close one of the two bases that the United States maintains in Spain in a demonstration of ‘cutting off your nose to spite your face,’ as the US needs these bases for its Middle East and African operations; i.e., it is going to put a hole in its own global-projection capacity.

The two options are move them to Portugal or Greece, which would take a lot of money and considerable time; setting up a major overseas base is an immense undertaking. After all, it’s not as if it’s like blowing up a bouncy castle and voilà.

Besides, a base is not only the military facet, but also married quarters for the personnel, and to coin another analogy; it not like raiding the houses box on a Monopoly board and plonking them down on your newly acquired street.

The second option is simply reducing the number of service personnel and equipment there, which again, still limits its global reach capacity but not as much.

There are just over 3,800 American military personnel permanently assigned in Spain. It is a much lower figure than in Germany, Italy, or the UK within the American deployment in Europe. But Spain’s value is not so much in the number as in the position. Those troops are linked, above all, to Rota and Morón (two key installations due to their proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar) and their usefulness, as said before, for operations towards the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Middle East.

Now, the leases on the bases are renewed each May, unless one of the two parties decides not to do it, so that would be a perfect opportunity for Trump to make good or do one of his habitual TACOs. But if the USA decides not to renew, there is a 12-month period for a definitive break to be avoided through negotiations. If a resolution is not achieved, the US is given another 12 months to do a Pickfords.

Hopefully, Trump will be a plucked chicken come the November Mid-Term Elections; hopefully for both the US and the rest of the world.

He could move them to Poland who are panting to have more US troops on their soil and are preparing military installations to welcome them but these installations are not as big nor as complete, as the ones in Germany, who are also not his favourite colour lately.

Mark Rutte, the NATO Secretary General, has been busy again in Washington kissing orange nether regions, which is his job. He uttered a whopper, saying that “…the vast majority of European countries have helped with bases, logistics, overflights, and fulfillment of commitments.” Futhermore, Rutte has been moderately critical of Sánchez in his conversations with Trump.

Spain, on the other hand, appears to enjoy standing before the bull waving a red cape and it doesn’t look like Sánchez is going to back down, as his stance is getting him plenty of Smarty Points to counter domestic discontent.

So what does the US have stuffed into their rented base of Rota? Six Arleigh Burke-class destroyers there, equipped with the Aegis system. Those ships are part of the allied missile defense set up and also provide anti-submarine and surface warfare capabilities.

They are one of the most advanced defence systems in the world. The system (SAMPSON) on the British Type 45 destroyers are arguably better; pity about the Rolls-Royce WR-21 gas turbines, mind.

The base has a privileged position, at the entrance to the Mediterranean, with direct access to the Atlantic, North Africa, and the Middle East. That geographical advantage carries great weight, and has makes it an optimal asset in the Pentagon. That is why punishing Spain by closing or reducing Rota would have a huge political effect, but it would also be a real strategic cost in Washington.

Anyway, that’s enough of me waffling on about something I admittedly know little about.

(News: Spain)

Keywords: US Threatens Withdrawal, Rota, Moron, US Bases, Leases

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