Quote Originally Posted by Ray View Post
Maya or Māyā (Sanskrit माया māyāa[›]), in Indian religions, has multiple meanings, usually quoted as "illusion", centered on the fact that we do not experience the environment itself but rather a projection of it, created by us.
If I hold a large rock 2 meters above my bare foot and release it... well, a projection it may be, but it will be hard to convince my toes of that.

Of course people are entitled to their own perceptions, but if one is trying to determine which among the vast plethora of perceptions on the internet should be taken seriously, one has to be a bit critical. In this case, the author would have given himself a better chance of being taken seriously if he'd elected to discuss why the US might want a base in Bangladesh, rather than addressing the very hypothetical question of "Why Does the US Want..."

Assuming what has yet to be demonstrated is a poor way to make an impression on a critically-minded audience.

I also noted that the author starts out with a reference to claims that the US is "looking to park the Seventh Fleet at Chittagong", then bases his argument on a supposed desire to deploy air force, rather than Naval, assets.

All of this, of course, has to be weighed against many declarations that the US is trying to move away from large fixed installations in necessarily insecure political environments. There are obvious reasons for this: whatever the purely strategic advantage of such installations might be, the idea of pouring many billions into an installation where you might at any time be asked to leave is unappealing on many levels.

One of the arguments used against US bases in the Philippines has been that if the US and China get into it a base would be likely to attract attack, potentially even nuclear attack. One wonders if that fear prevails as well in Bangladesh...