SOYMB previously drew attention to America's daunting and wasteful military machine in the Pacific rim. In the Middle East the situation is not much different.
From an active-duty force of 1.4 million soldiers, the US has deployed some 350,000 troops to at least 130 foreign countries around the world at more than 750 basesThis figure does not include small foreign sites of less than 10 acres or those that the US military values at less than US$10 million.) It controls 52,000 buildings, and more than 38,000 pieces of heavy infrastructure like piers, wharves and gigantic storage tanks, not to mention more than 9,100 "linear structures" like runways, rail lines and pipelines (add in more than 6,300 buildings, 3,500 pieces of infrastructure, and 928 linear structures in US territories). Military construction and housing costs at all US bases ran to $23.2 billion. An additional $14.6 billion was needed for maintenance, repair and recapitalization. To power its facilities, according to 2009 figures, the Pentagon spent $3.8 billion.
Many are in or near combat zones in the Middle East.
US military installations in the Middle East serve to keep an eye on Iran, but their regional presence was significant well before Iran became a "threat". There were three reasons why the US sought a military influence across the Middle East, says Mehran Kamrava, Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar: "Securing oil resources, guaranteeing the security of the state of Israel and combating threats to American interests" were the initial priorities of US military activity in the region prior to the first Gulf War, Kamrava says. US forces "have the ability to project force when needed, by intimidating and signalling to potential threats that the US can flex its muscles if necessary ...This is a combination of 'showing the flag' and practical, logistical issues such as the movement of troops, supplies and services".
According to new CENTCOM figures given to Al Jazeera on April 30, there are about 125,000 US troops in close proximity to Iran: 90,000 soldiers in/around Afghanistan on Operation Enduring Freedom; some 20,000 soldiers deployed ashore elsewhere in the Near East region; and a variable 15-20,000 afloat on naval vessels. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said the US would have 40,000 troops including 23,000 in Kuwait as well as elsewhere in the Gulf following the withdrawal from Iraq.
US forces, Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines, are positioned in Oman and the UAE to the south of Iran, Turkey and Israel to the west, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan to the north, and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. In addition, the US has close military partnerships with Georgia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, where US troops are involved in training missions, and where local facilities are used in moving supplies across the Caspian Sea towards Afghanistan.
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From an active-duty force of 1.4 million soldiers, the US has deployed some 350,000 troops to at least 130 foreign countries around the world at more than 750 basesThis figure does not include small foreign sites of less than 10 acres or those that the US military values at less than US$10 million.) It controls 52,000 buildings, and more than 38,000 pieces of heavy infrastructure like piers, wharves and gigantic storage tanks, not to mention more than 9,100 "linear structures" like runways, rail lines and pipelines (add in more than 6,300 buildings, 3,500 pieces of infrastructure, and 928 linear structures in US territories). Military construction and housing costs at all US bases ran to $23.2 billion. An additional $14.6 billion was needed for maintenance, repair and recapitalization. To power its facilities, according to 2009 figures, the Pentagon spent $3.8 billion.
Many are in or near combat zones in the Middle East.
US military installations in the Middle East serve to keep an eye on Iran, but their regional presence was significant well before Iran became a "threat". There were three reasons why the US sought a military influence across the Middle East, says Mehran Kamrava, Director of the Center for International and Regional Studies at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar: "Securing oil resources, guaranteeing the security of the state of Israel and combating threats to American interests" were the initial priorities of US military activity in the region prior to the first Gulf War, Kamrava says. US forces "have the ability to project force when needed, by intimidating and signalling to potential threats that the US can flex its muscles if necessary ...This is a combination of 'showing the flag' and practical, logistical issues such as the movement of troops, supplies and services".
According to new CENTCOM figures given to Al Jazeera on April 30, there are about 125,000 US troops in close proximity to Iran: 90,000 soldiers in/around Afghanistan on Operation Enduring Freedom; some 20,000 soldiers deployed ashore elsewhere in the Near East region; and a variable 15-20,000 afloat on naval vessels. US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta has said the US would have 40,000 troops including 23,000 in Kuwait as well as elsewhere in the Gulf following the withdrawal from Iraq.
US forces, Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines, are positioned in Oman and the UAE to the south of Iran, Turkey and Israel to the west, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan to the north, and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. In addition, the US has close military partnerships with Georgia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, where US troops are involved in training missions, and where local facilities are used in moving supplies across the Caspian Sea towards Afghanistan.
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