American Military presence in the Persian Gulf essays

American Military presence in the Persian Gulf essays American Military Presence in the Persian Gulf Even prior to the Gulf War, the U.S. had thrown its immense military, diplomatic, and economic weight behind the monarchies of the Persian Gulf like Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Though they rule over less than 10% of the worlds total population, these countries control most of its petroleum wealth (64% of the worlds oil reserves). Prior to the war, it was difficult for the U.S. to engage in military exercises or even arrange a port call without asking for permission months in advance. However, because the Gulf nations have accepted acceptance of the balance it now brings, there is an effective, permanent U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf. Still, in spite of, and sometimes because of this presence, the regions instability continues. Most Persian Gulf Arabs and their leaders felt threatened after Iraqs seizure of Kuwait and were grateful for the strong U.S. leadership in the 1991 war against Saddam Husseins regime. However, for some, there is an enormous amount of cynicism regarding U.S. motives in waging that war. Many Arabs in the Gulf cannot shake the sense that the war was not fought for international law, self-determination, and human rights, as the Bush administration said, but rather to protect U.S. access to oil and to enable the U.S. to gain a strategic hold in the region. It is apparent that a continued U.S. presence is welcome only as long as Arabs feel they need a foreign military presence to protect them. The U.S. has no formal defense treaties with its southern Gulf allies. It relies on a series of cooperative agreements with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE. Saudi Arabia declined to sign any agreement even though Saudi-U.S. ties are stronger than American ties with any other Gulf state. Even though the Gulf states refuse the permanent basing of U.S. troops, the U.S. defense planners have arranged...