USA: Global Troop Deployments
Have you ever wondered how many troops the US has stationed abroad and where?
I have, and after some searching I found just what I needed from the good (libertarian) folks at the Heritage Foundation: Global U.S. Troop Deployment, 1950-2003 (link)
There is also a link to an Excel spreadsheet there with all the data – should you want to parse it yourself.
So being a statistics junkie, I did, and here’s what I found:
Who would have thought that the USA would have 93 troops deployed in France? And more telling is the fact that it went up by 19 from the year before – a 26% increase.
Some more fun:
The USA withdrew all troops from these countries in 2003.
Uzbekistan
Kuwait
Gabon
Grenada
Guyana
The USA sent troops to the following countries in 2003 (number sent):
Iraq (183,002)
Latvia (6)
Congo (formerly Zaire) (9)
Malawi (1)
The guy in Malawi must be pretty damned lonely – kind of like the Maytag repairman of the US military. Do you think he dreams of an invasion by Zambia? Or how about an amphibious assault from Mozambique? I hope he goes snorkeling at least; some of the most beautiful freshwater fish in the world are found in Lake Malawi.
Do you think he faces US out of Malawi protests on the way to work?
