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Carter's effort to resolve the Iran hostage crisis ultimately succeeded after dragging on 444 days

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Iranian authorities chose January 20, 1981 as the date to set the hostages free

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the date Carter left office and Ronald Reagan became president

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so Reagan presidency began on a triumphal note

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some argued that the prospect of dealing with a steely Reagan rather than a weak and wimpy Carter persuaded the Ayatollahs to release the hostages

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Reagan has become a hero of conservatism

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two themes define the Reagan presidency

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1. deference to the market

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near uninhibited capitalism would trickle down to the benefit of all

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2. assertiveness

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it was imperative for the United States to be the strongest military power in the world

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"defense is not a budget item, you spend what you need"

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increase in military spending, 35% in two terms

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communist bloc was in a state of advanced decay

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military build up facilitated intervention in the Greater Middle East

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Carter

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1980, preliminary step towards implementing the Carter doctrine

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Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force (RDJTF)

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lieutenant General Robert Kingston, RDJTF commander, stated that his mission was to assure the unimpeded flow of oil from the Arabian Gulf

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freedom was at stake: not freedom as described in the Bill of Rights, but freedom as lifestyle

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Americans had embraced a lifestyle on mobility and consumption

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candidate Reagan insisted that more than ample supplies of oil and natural gas were available within the United States itself

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president Reagan affirmed Carter's declaration that the Persian Gulf represented a vital US national security interest

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Reagan replaced the RDJTF with the United States Central Command (CENTCOM)

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the Pentagon now had a permanent agency charged with laying the groundwork for war in the Greater Middle East

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CENTCOM was a part of a larger plan to have a military presence around the globe:

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USNORTHCOM

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USSOUTHCOM

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USAFRICOM

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USCENTCOM

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USPACOM

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a four-US commander charged with presiding over each designated area of responsibility

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War Plan Orange

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joint U.S. army and navy war plans for dealing with a possible war with Japan during the years between the First and Second World Wars

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influenced much of what the army and navy did between the wars

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construction of fortifications

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stationing of troops

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design of ships and planes

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conduct of war games

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CENTCOM was similar to War Plan Orange beginning in the 1980s

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on a more ambitious scale

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but while War Plan Orange knew who the enemy was, CENTCOM did not have the luxury of knowing who the enemy would be: Iraq, Iran, Syria, the Soviet Union, etc.

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nor could they assume that the character of any resulting conflict would be conventional, e.g. nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons were all a possibility, also unconventional methods were possible such as terrorism and guerrilla acts

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protecting Saudi Arabia was priority number 1 for CENTCOM

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analogous to defending Western Europe or South Korea

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and one could be intellectually comfortable the goals of CENTCOM

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it resembled what the U.S. military had been doing elsewhere for decades

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committing the United States to defend Saudi Arabia would soon open up a Pandora's box of unwelcome surprises

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gearing up for war in the Middle East involved:

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negotiating access

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preparing infrastructure

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pre-positioning equipment

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arranging for over flight rights

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permission to use airfields and sea ports

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in 1980, Oman agreed to allow the Pentagon to use the coastal island of Masirah

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access agreements were also signed with Kenya, Somalia, Morocco, and Egypt

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preparing infrastructure meant

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expanding the capacity of those airfields and ports to accommodate a surge in military traffic

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Saudi Arabia constructed a network of airfields and military support facilities with a capacity far in excess of what Saudi forces required

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stocking weapons, ammunition, supplies close to the prospective war zone

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Oman, Bahrain, and Israel allowed Pentagon to stockpile equipment and ammunitions on their territory

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Diego Garcia

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one of the last remaining islands of British Empire

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to facilitate it's transfer to a US naval facility, Great Britain expelled the 2000 inhabitants

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example of how the Carter Doctrine triggered an institutional response aimed at facilitating US intervention in the Greater Middle East

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in the 1980s, the Reagan Administration invested $1 billion to expand Diego Garcia's air and port capacity

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to accommodate the largest strategic bombers and Navy warships

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the island became a "vital and indispensable platform for projecting American military power"

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Operation Bright Star

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a series of combined and joint training exercises led by American and Egyptian forces in Egypt

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began in 1980, rooted in the Camp David Accords

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after its signing, the military forces of Egypt and the United States agreed to conduct coalition training in Egypt

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held every two years up to present