Gulf Security and the U.S. Military

Geoffrey F. Gresh is an Associate Professor at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.

"In Gulf Security and the US Military, Geoffrey F. Gresh makes an important contribution to studies of American overseas military basing policy and US security assistance; he also adds to an increasingly rich literature on the strategic significance of the Persian Gulf to America's global security . . . Geoffrey Gresh's new book is an excellent start to what is certain to be an important and long-running national security debate."—Russ Burgos, Parameters: U.S. Army War College Quarterly "[T]he dearth of studies highlighting the history and politics of US basing in the Middle East, and the Gulf Coast region in particular, remains surprising given the great strategic importance of this area. Geoffrey Gresh's Gulf Security and the US Military: Regime Survival and the Politics of Basing is therefore a welcome addition to the literature. To my knowledge, it is the first in-depth account of base politics devoted to this region . . . Scholars, policymakers, and general readers will have much to learn from this fine book."—Andrew Yeo, H-Diplo, H-Net Reviews "[The book] provides useful lessons learned for those involved with current and future negotiations with any Gulf nation. Every USAF colonel and above who thinks he or she may be involved in such decisions should read this book. It is an essential primer, written in such a way as to be scholarly, yet comprehensible . . . The insight into all that has gone into the 'base life' one will experience and perhaps off-base privileges is certainly worth the effort and time to read this book."—Wayne L. Shaw, Air Force Research Institute "This book is not just a comprehensive history of the military-strategic relationship between the U.S. and Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) but also a complex analysis of internal and external factors (such as regime survival and state-society relations) that influence the conduct of the GCC towards the American military presence in the Gulf. A welcome addition to security studies broadly defined and which takes the local level seriously."—Fawaz A. Gerges, Emirates Chair of Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies, London School of Economics "Geoffrey Gresh's book, Gulf Security and the U.S. Military, comes at a crucial time when the Middle East is roiling. U.S. bases have served the interests of those in and out of the Gulf. They are affected by domestic politics as much as they are affected by regional politics. Going back to the establishment of U.S. bases in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Oman and bringing the reader up to date Gresh gives the reader a vital perspective through which to analyze the U.S. role in the Gulf in these turbulent times. This is essential reading for those interested in US policy in the Gulf, regional and energy politics."—Lenore G. Martin, Professor and Chair Department of Political Science and International Studies, Emmanuel College and Associate, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University "I do not know of any book that goes into this level of detail about the specific events in the long process by which the US replaced the British as the primary external power in the Gulf. It provides a piece to the puzzle vital for understanding the hot-and-cold strategic duets the United States has played with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and other allies in the region."—Peter Dombrowski, Professor of Strategy, the US Naval War College "This powerful and comprehensive look at security in the Arabian Gulf and the US role in creating and sustaining it should be mandatory reading for policy makers. Geoffrey Gresh has written an up-to-the-minute account of how our key friends in the region view their security not only in the Gulf, but the world. Superb!"—Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), former NATO Supreme Allied Commander and Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University "Overall, the analysis provided in the book is extremely valuable to US policy makers and officers in charge of American bases in those regions, as they will find important insights and inspirations from Gresh's book. The lessons from this book can also be of great interest to policy advisors concerned with how the United States today can help countries in the Gulf regions to enhance their national security facing the severe threats from the rise of Islamic State (ISIS) and to reduce the risk of increasing internal security threats for those countries."—Junyuan Rao, Naval Historical Foundation

• Contents and AbstractsIntroduction: Gulf national security and the politics of Basing chapter abstractThis chapter provides a theoretical and strategic overview of the U.S. military basing presence in the Gulf from the Second World War to the present. It lays a framework for examining the history of the U.S. military in the Gulf by placing the book within the larger base politics literature, in addition to providing a broad overview on the global evolution of U.S. military basing following the Second World War. Base politics and basing access for military forces is one of the oldest enduring features of international relations among nations and empires. The central question posed here is when and why did base politicization occur in Gulf Arab host nations. External and internal security dynamics linked to a host regime's survival are the main drivers influencing Gulf Cooperation Council nations either to accept or expel the U.S. military from local bases.1Oil and War chapter abstractThis chapter sets the stage for how the United States came to establish its first military base in the region, while placing the Gulf in its larger strategic and global context. As the United States became more entangled in the Second World War, the U.S. military grew adamant about securing base installations to support its war efforts. Additionally, the U.S. military needed easy access to the valuable oil resources of the Gulf to buoy its operations abroad. Political pressure from U.S. oil companies operating in the Gulf also helped convince the U.S. government to pursue a more active regional strategy to safeguard significant U.S. investments and other regional assets. The first establishment of a base at Dhahran would be crucial at the end of the war to assist with postwar construction efforts in Europe and Pacific Asia.2Negotiating a Foothold chapter abstractThis chapter explores the origins of the U.S. military's complex relationship with the Gulf Arab monarchies, especially with the Saud royal family, following the Second World War. A more permanent U.S. military basing presence was never an inevitable conclusion and depended upon a combination of shifting national security dynamics and U.S. military and economic aid packages. This chapter examines the key domestic opposition groups influenced by pan-Arab nationalism that threatened the monarchy versus external security factors, including threats emanating from the Hashemite Kingdom and a rising Soviet Union. Though pan-Arab nationalism played a certain role in stimulating domestic instability in Saudi Arabia, three separate regional factors played a more influential role in determining the Saud monarchy's decision to permit the continued U.S. military basing presence: Hashemite threats to invade the kingdom, the ongoing Buraimi Oasis crisis between Great Britain and the Trucial Shaykhdoms, and the Suez Canal crisis.3Regime Survival and the U.S. Military chapter abstractThis chapter examines the events that led to the eventual basing termination and expulsion of the U.S. military from its Saudi bases in 1962. With fewer external security concerns by the early 1960s, the Saud monarchy turned its attention to domestic politics and rising concerns regarding Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's influence over pan-Arab national groups in the kingdom. By the end of the 1950s and early 1960s, domestic security concerns grew to a new high as the U.S. military's presence exacerbated attacks on the legitimacy of a monarchy under mounting domestic pressure. Opposition groups portrayed the United States as an imperial occupying force, helping erode the power and damage the image of the monarchy domestically. The Saud monarchy appeared concerned about its survival and its association with the U.S. military and terminated its long-term basing contract in the spring of 1962.4A Light Footprint in Bahrain chapter abstractAfter declaring independence in 1971, Bahrain signed a basing agreement with the United States, prompted by external security fears associated with Iran's desire to annex the tiny island nation. But when the Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973 with the U.S. supporting Israel in the war, Bahrainis violently voiced their outrage over the U.S. naval presence. In late 1973, the Bahraini government announced that the U.S. naval basing agreement would be terminated. The U.S. lost its homeport at Jufair, but it was able to negotiate the maintenance of a light footprint including the presence of an administrative support unit for U.S. naval regional logistics. This chapter examines both the domestic security challenges faced by the Khalifas during this period and the politics involved in the homeport expulsion.5Sultan Qaboos and Operation Eagle Claw chapter abstractThis chapter examines Oman's relations with the U.S. military after the 1979 U.S. expulsion from Iran. Oman acts as a valuable historical case study that illuminates important lessons learned about what can work when negotiating for basing access with a host nation under heightened domestic pressure. Oman's Sultan Qaboos had long faced internal opposition that stemmed from the Dhofar rebellion of the 1960s and early 1970s. His fears were exacerbated when it became known that, unbeknownst to Sultan Qaboos, President Carter had violated Omani sovereignty in executing a secret rescue mission, codenamed Eagle Claw, to free U.S. hostages held captive by Iranian revolutionaries in Tehran at the U.S. Embassy. After lengthy negotiations and the subsequent increase in U.S. military and economic aid incentives, including promises of a less visible and low-profile military, the U.S. was able to maintain its military basing access in Oman.6A Saudi Sandstorm: Rivalry, Revolution, and terrorism chapter abstractThis chapter studies the process that led to the Saudi decision to reestablish a U.S. military basing presence in 1990. Though Saudi Arabia maintained its partnership with the U.S. military throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the U.S. was not given control of local bases after 1962 until the First Gulf War. The external threat posed by Iraq was the main driver behind convincing the Saud monarchy to allow a U.S. military basing presence. From 1990 to 2003, the kingdom confronted major domestic security challenges, including several terrorist attacks motivated by the U.S. military basing presence, but it was not until Saddam Hussein was finally removed in 2003 that the U.S. military was asked to terminate its basing presence. Iran also posed less of a threat to the kingdom since U.S. military bases surrounded Iran on both its eastern and western borders, including in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Afghanistan, and Kyrgyzstan.Conclusion: The GCC Today and Lessons learned for the U.S. Military chapter abstractThe conclusion assesses the current and future U.S. military Gulf presence following its Saudi departure, as well as the present challenges ushered in by regional violence since 2011. The U.S. military maintains a significant presence across the Arabian Peninsula but it must now confront a new and emerging dynamic where most GCC countries have begun to diversify their political, military, economic, technological, and security partnerships with countries other than the United States. Many GCC nations have turned in recent years to the East to emerging powers such as China, Russia, and India to assist with their national security and economic needs. Nonetheless, understanding the dynamics of base politicization in a host nation remains important today and studying base politics more broadly helps explain when and why basing access may go awry for future policymakers and scholars of the region.