With the hundreds of thousands of U.S. "boots on the ground" in Iraq and Afghanistan, we should wonder how many Americans have been deployed away from home throughout history and whether they have been a force for good (as advertized by the U.S. Navy). While I am far from having answers to the bigger question, I have been compiling annual Pentagon data on troop deployments for many years now. The latest 2009 update, with help from my colleague Mike Horrell, helped me generate the charts below.
Despite the famous surges into Iraq and Afghanistan, it is surprising that the total level of troops abroad in 2009 is roughly equal to the baseline level (400,000) set during the Cold War era.
An interesting match would be to show the deployed US forces alongside global population growth. I think the result would be to show several things, which is the overwhelming technology and firepower that the average US military person has at their disposal can dissuade most enemies. Does the calculation put Afghanistan in Asia or Middle East?
Posted by: jim di | February 28, 2010 at 06:37 PM
Tim: As I wrote on my blog, Truth on the Market, I think Tyler is pretty far off base with this one. See http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2009/04/28/what-does-tyler-know-about-law-and-economics-anyway/
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I am not surprised that the total level of troops abroad in 2009 is roughly equal to the baseline level (400,000) set during the Cold War era. There are certain reasons which are still to be discussed.
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