to pre position equipment in the southern Gulf States. Five to six thousand troops are in Kuwait. Oman allows the U.S. to use air bases in its borders, and Bahrain serves as the regional headquarters for the U.S. Central Command for the fifth fleet. Riyadh, which is the most sensitive Gulf capital, allows for U.S. air units to keep a virtually constant presence. The U.S. currently spends at least $40,000,000,000 a year on Gulf defense.
             The U.S. is primarily concerned with the dangers posed by Iran and Iraq. The regimes in Tehran and Baghdad have made their hostility to the U.S. clear, and both have the ability to threaten the Gulf region. Since the Gulf war, the U.S. has recognized that Iran is not the only threat in the area. Joseph Nye, as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Affairs said that "...Iran harbors ambitions of establishing Iranian hegemony over the Persian Gulf region and exporting its unique brand of
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