[mopsi]

> Edit: And my point of view definitely isn't from American exceptionalism. I oppose my country's (Finland's) NATO membership and watch in horror how there's now going to be 12 bases in Finland that are essentially under pure US control (Finnish laws don't apply there, or even to the US personnel outside the areas, and Finland has no say in US military coming and going as they like).

That's a very sensationalistic take. No military bases will be established. The agreement between Finland and the US is about prepositioned stockpiles for use in case of war. Since the stockpiles belong to the US government, it is natural that they demand unrestricted access to warehouses holding their stuff.

[jampekka]

There will be areas which are under the rule of US military and can house weapons and troops at their will. What more would be needed for those to be characterized as bases?

Also a foreign country positioning weapon stockpiles is a bit questionable for sovereignty in itself, and I find it quite wild to use that as a rationale for giving up the country's rule of law in the areas. You think USA would be happy to have Finnish military areas within their borders because there happens to be Finnish weapons there?

[mopsi]

When someone says "military base", then most people imagine barracks full of life, tanks and IFVs being worked on in garages, people coming and going, groups of soldiers doing their PT in the background like in establishing shots of Hollywood movies. Guarded warehouses in the middle of nowhere are none of that.

And defense agreements that establish exceptions from local laws are nothing out of ordinary either. For example, the agreement between Finland and Sweden stipulates that visiting forces are excluded from customs procedures related to weapons, explosives and other dangerous goods.

The Finnish-American one is much more detailed and goes into weeds like excluding vehicles transported by the US into Finland from car tax and VAT. :) It's common sense, but countries that are ruled by law must have these things written down.

[jampekka]

Guarded warehouses in the middle of nowhere give at least as wrong image as military base. The areas are mostly next to Finnish military bases and USA will be taking over some Finnish military infrastructure. And the DCA allows for permanent US troops there.

My hunch is that the word "base" is avoided because the public opinion on even NATO bases is split at best, and I'm quite sure US bases are significantly less popular.

[hef19898]

You'd be surprised how detachments from NATO militaries are treated at US bases. Pretty much the way NATO countries treat US bases and detachments. Obviously there are more US bases abroad than non-US ones in the states, but still.