IRAQ

Guardian: How American power girds the globe with a ring of steel
New bases take Pentagon's armed presence far and wide

Whenever America goes to war, the spoils of victory invariably include more US military bases overseas.
Having vanquished Saddam Hussein, the Pentagon is planning to establish four US bases in Iraq, according to reports in Washington yesterday.

The Iraqi deployment plans fall into the century-old pattern of US foreign bases being built on the back of military victory. They are also the latest episode in an extraordinary surge in America's projection of military muscle since September 11.