ABSTRACT
The Carter administration's efforts to secure the participation of regional states in its military strategy in the Gulf were publicized as a 'regional cooperative security framework'. The Reagan administration, during Alexander Haig's term as Secretary of State, sought to develop a 'strategic consensus' in the region against Soviet influence. 'Facility access' would preclude any visible and large-scale presence of US troops in the host country. Due to major qualitative and quantitative improvements to its long-range mobility assets, US power projection into the Gulf could be made feasible by relying on facility access arrangements, rather than on bases. Before looking at the major US facility access agreements in detail, it is necessary to examine the role of Diego Garcia, the only permanent US base between Naples and the Philippines, in the US strategy in the Gulf. The response of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states to US military strategy in the region was shaped by conflicting demands.
