Interactive Military Presence Map

Mother Jones has an interesting interactive map that details US military presence throughout the world from 1950 to 2007. It’s interesting to see where US troops have been concentrated during different time periods, and more interesting to read the details about different locations. Too bad the interactivity only works when the slider is set to 2007.

From Mother Jones:

The map… uses Pentagon worldwide troop data from every half-decade since 1950, plus 2007, the latest year for which the data is available. These numbers are often fuzzy: Some deployments are classified, others are temporary, and just because the Defense Department claims 30 US troops in Indonesia last year doesn’t mean 1,500 didn’t pass through on training missions. Even so, the map, and the associated research, should give you a good feel for what the Pentagon is up to around the world.