Manta

The AP has a story about the U.S. air base in Manta, Ecuador. President Correa has made very clear that he does not intend to extend the lease when it expires in 2009. The article really makes a point of criticizing him for doing so: if planes avoid Ecuadorian airspace and bring in some money to the local economy, why would a government begrudge this key element of the U.S. war against drugs?

Aside from the fear of the Colombian conflict continuing to spill over into Ecuador (a problem the article does at least mention) the answer is strikingly simple. Maybe, just maybe, some people don’t like having foreign soldiers stationed in their country, doing work based on a different country’s definition of national security. How many Americans would accept a Mexican military base in Texas to address organized crime in Ciudad Juárez? A Salvadoran base outside Los Angeles to keep tabs on gangs? At the very least, we should start with the assumption that foreign bases are not our right.