As Kuwait faces missile strikes despite hosting major U.S. military installations, a fundamental question is emerging across the Gulf: do American bases provide protection or make small states targets?
"Will GCC countries decide not to host US military bases anymore after this war ends?" asked a Kuwaiti resident on social media, articulating a debate that has profound implications for U.S.-Gulf relations and regional security architecture. "All GCC countries have the absolute right to remove them."
The question reflects growing disillusionment with a security arrangement that has defined Gulf geopolitics since the 1990-91 liberation of Kuwait from Iraqi occupation. Kuwait hosts Camp Arifjan, one of the largest U.S. Army installations in the region, and Ali Al Salem Air Base. Qatar houses Al Udeid Air Base, the forward headquarters of U.S. Central Command. Bahrain hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The United Arab Emirates has multiple U.S. military facilities.
In Qatar, as among small but wealthy states, strategic positioning and soft power create influence beyond military might. Yet current events are testing whether military partnerships with Washington enhance Gulf security or compromise the neutrality that might better serve small states' interests.
The bases were established primarily to counter threats from Iraq and Iran, with Gulf states trading military access for American security guarantees. For decades, this arrangement appeared to work: Gulf monarchies maintained stability, developed extraordinary wealth from energy exports, and avoided the conflicts that plagued other Middle Eastern states.
But the current conflict has exposed potential flaws in this model. If U.S. military presence makes Gulf states targets rather than protects them, the fundamental logic of these partnerships dissolves. Qatar's experience offers an interesting contrast—while hosting the largest U.S. base in the region, the emirate has so far avoided direct strikes, possibly due to its unique diplomatic positioning maintaining dialogue with all regional actors.



