America can be a superpower or a welfare state, but not both.

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Quite frankly, and I don't say this in a 'OMFG I'm from the UK and therefore must be the US's best buddy' but the US is welcome to keep their bases running over here, for one thing it brings in money for us from US airmen shopping in local places. For another it gives the US a nice refueling point without having to put up tankers, or indeed gives them somewhere to base the tankers (Mildenhall springs to mind) and it's nice to see US kit in the skies from time to time. Yes, the UK is very much riding on the coat-tails of the US military, primarily because we've lost most of ours. It's not a situation I'm exactly happy with, but at the same time it's nice to know that someone has our back until our idiots have sorted themselves out.

The UK & France earned their ride. They stood against the Nazis and Russians when everyone else watched. So I don't mean anything derogatory when I say you "are riding our security coattails", I'm just outlining one of the factors of our extremely high defense budget. Above all else, the US's transition from an isolationist power to a "world policeman" has been one hell of a success in keeping Western powers from re-engaging in world war.