The US WANTS to be in those bases because it gives them a lot of soft power in foreign relationships
I'd say that military bases within European countries is the definition of projecting hard power. If 40 000 soldiers in a military base are called 'soft power', what's hard power then? Nuking the city?
The IDF just announced that they've discovered a Hamas command and control center under Jimmy Wales' khouse. It'll be dealt with accordingly.