The attack on Syria by the US, Britain and France trilogy last night, brought the "base occupations" of the Islamic geography back to the agenda. In addition to the US, which has more than 50K troops in Arab countries, France and England have military bases in the Gulf countries and Russia in Syria. Arab states have almost become military bases of Western powers.
Colonel Rob Manning, the spokesman for the US Defense Department (Pentagon), said of the number of US troops in Iraq and Syria in December 2017:
"The Ministry of Defense has about 5,200 troops in Iraq and about 2,000 troops in Syria. These figures are approximate figures. These forces gave support to our partners in fighting with Daesh."
Based on the Pentagon data, the BBC reported on April 11 that the Middle East had about 54,000 US troops in 12 countries, with 7 of the countries taking part in US bases.
US President Donald Trump has said that Syria and the Middle East have increased their powers in other regions by 33 percent in 2017 and that the Middle East and North Africa countries where the US forces exist are Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain.
Russia has emerged as the most important actor in the country today after launching its intervention in Syria with a limited number of air force platforms from 2015. According to an agreement signed between Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Syrian regime in 2016, Russian forces will use the Hmeymim Air Base in the Lazkiye province of Syria's Mediterranean coast for 50 years. Russia is also using the Tartus Naval Base.
US bases in the Gulf
Qatar is home to the US military's largest military base in the Middle East. Approximately 11,000 American troops are stationed at El-Udaye Air Base, 30 kilometers west of the capital, Doha. The Udeyd base, which has a 3.8-kilometer-long track in the Gulf region, has a capacity of 120 air vehicles. In Kuwait, where the United States is home to more than one military and air base, the US, which is 60 miles from Iraq's border, only has more than 10 American troops in the Ed-Doha Military Base, as well as more tanks and hundreds of planes with helicopters is estimated to have received.
The United Arab Emirates (BAE) is also home to the United States' Ez-Zufra Air Base. According to estimates, there are about 5 thousand soldiers in the air base, with refueling and reconnaissance planes and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Bahrain is also the 5th Fleet of the American Navy. It is estimated that there are more than 4 soldiers in the capital Manama, an aircraft carrier, a submarine and a large number of war planes. It is said that the number of American soldiers in Oman, one of the Gulf states where there are multiple US bases, is small.
Other countries' bases in the Gulf
The permanent military base in France, located in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the BAE, was opened in 2009 by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. It is estimated that there are about 700 French troops in the military. Britain opened its first permanent naval base in Bahrain last week, after efforts to establish a military base in Bahrain, BAE and Oman in 2014.
UN peacekeeping force in Egypt
There is the UN Peacekeeping Force in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, which does not hesitate to open the Suez Canal to US and Western countries for military operations. According to the Camp David Agreement signed between Egypt and Israel in 1979 on the sharing of the Sina Peninsula as A-B-C regions, Egyptian troops and UN-affiliated peace force troops were deployed in the C region on the Israeli-Egyptian border in 1982.