AFSC speaker warns U.S. global base network fuels empire, calls for troop withdrawals worldwide

Joseph Gainza, speaking for the American Friends Service Committee, argued that U.S. military reach extends far beyond a single administration and that policy should focus on withdrawing forces globally rather than seeking cover from outside institutions.

"We have to recognize that the infrastructure of empire has been put in place over the last 100 years and that right now there are over 700 military bases and installations of the United States strewn around the globe," Gainza said, criticizing doctrines of 'full spectrum dominance' and the U.S. refusal to join the International Criminal Court. He contended that the problem predates any particular president and urged organizers to push for bringing troops home from multiple locations, not only Iraq.

Gainza's remarks placed U.S. policy in a century-long context and connected local anti-war organizing to a broader critique of overseas basing and preemptive doctrine. The rally did not include a municipal policy motion on overseas bases; the speech was an advocacy argument addressed to attendees and coalition groups.