Engelhardt, Tom. “Can you say ‘permanent bases’?: the American press can't.” TomDispatch.com, February 14, 2006.

Summary: Between now and the national mid-term elections in November, the Republican administration is likely to give some lip service to “withdrawing” troops from Iraq (that is, reducing the number of ground troops slightly while intensifying the air war against the Iraqi resistance and civilians who happen to live in their neighborhoods). Since the commitments to withdrawal are so heavily hedged by hypotheticals and preconditions that it will be difficult to tell whether they are being honored or not, it would be prudent to focus on a more definite indicator: Are we closing our numerous bases in Iraq, or on the contrary are we building them to last indefinitely? Englehardt marshals the evidence showing that our construction efforts, so lackluster and inadequate in restoring facilities and services for the use of Iraqis, have succeeded brilliantly in producing half a dozen gigantic, lavishly equipped military bases. For some odd reason, they are seldom mentioned in the American press.