For more than eight decades, the United States has maintained a formidable military presence across the Arabian Gulf. US bases are dotted across Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman. This military presence did not emerge by accident. It was shaped by three enduring strategic goals forged in the aftermath of World War II: the security of Israel, the uninterrupted flow of oil, and the preservation of the conservative Arab states that anchor regional order. These goals have never been formally revised, and despite the seismic geopolitical shifts of the intervening decades, they remain the bedrock of American strategy in the region. The Carter Doctrine of 1980 crystallized this commitment in unambiguous terms. Triggered by the […]