U.S. Forces in the Middle East: Resources and Capabilities by Anthony H. Cordesman

Author:Anthony H. Cordesman [Cordesman, Anthony H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9780813332451
Google: UAKaDwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 3985471
Publisher: Westview Press
Published: 1997-02-06T00:00:00+00:00

with the US effort to try to isolate Iran, and many feel the time has come to ease sanctions on Iraq. The Southern Gulf states all face major cash flow crises which are limiting the force expansion and military modernization, and they have shown little progress in moving away from strategic dependence on the US, in creating effective regional cooperation under the Gulf Cooperation Council, or in reforming their economies in ways which will ease their long-term problems in funding military expenditures and arms imports. There are significant uncertainties in how long the US can preserve the present level of strategic cooperation in the face of internal divisions within the Gulf states, and economic pressures that are leading many Gulf states to limit their military spending and burden sharing expenditures.

At the same time, these arrangements have helped to allow the US to substantially increase its presence in the Gulf, to include SOF and Patriot units, limited land-based air forces under Operation Southern Watch, and a near continuous carrier battle group and marine amphibious ready group presence in the region. The US has also been able to increase its number of combined exercises, military construction, and security assistance. The US now carries out roughly 100 joint and combined exercises in the Middle East each year. These exercises include numerous naval and special operations exercises, the Intrinsic Action series in Kuwait, and the Ultimate Resolve series of exercises. These exercises are used to maintain access, promote interoperability with regional partners, enhance the forward presence of US forces, and improve the individual and collective capabilities of the GCC states.

The importance of these improvements in prepositioning and cooperation in the region became clear in October 1994, when Iraq moved two Republican Guards divisions and three additional divisions to positions near its border with Kuwait. The US had to rush in additional forces to the Gulf, beginning on October 9, to supplement the 13,000 US personnel already in the theater. These forces initially included the 18,000 men in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, 16,000 troops from the US Army's 24th Infantry Division, 306 fixed wing aircraft (including A-10s, F-16s, RF-4Cs, F-15ES, F-15Cs, F-111s, EF-llls, F-117s, JSTARS, F/A-18s, B-52s, and E-3As, 58 helicopters (including 54 AH-64s), two batteries of Patriot missiles, and a carrier battle group. The US then decided to deploy another 73 fixed wing aircraft.

By October 12, the US had a total of 19,241 men in the Gulf area (1,923 Army, 11,171 Navy, 1,977 Marine, 3,844 Air Force, 173 Special Operations, and 153 Joint Task Force Headquarters). It had two carrier task forces with 15 ships (counting one carrier battle group in the Red Sea), and 200 combat aircraft. It was deploying significant numbers of aircraft, US Army units were beginning to join the prepositioned US armor in Kuwait, and 5 Marine Corps Maritime Prepositioning Ships, 8 US Army Brigade Afloat Ships, and 6 USAF and US Army Prepositioning Ships were moving towards the Gulf. US forces were involved in combined exercises with Kuwaiti

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