From Security Guarantee to Strategic Liability: How War with Iran Could Cost Washington the Gulf

From Security Guarantee to Strategic Liability: How War with Iran Could Cost Washington the Gulf

For decades, Gulf monarchies accepted a simple bargain with Washington: Host American forces in exchange for U.S. security guarantees. However, as the confrontation between the United States, Israel and Iran escalates, that arrangement is beginning to look less like protection and more like exposure. Instead of shielding Gulf states from conflict, America's vast military footprint has transformed them into a frontline in a war they neither start…