Kuwait

: The emirate shares a more than 250 kilometer (155 mile) border with Iraq, and is the most important U.S. base for any invasion of Iraq staged from the south. Some 130,000 U.S. Army and Marines troops with more than 1,000 tanks and several hundred fighter planes and helicopters are stationed here. They have been joined by over 20,000 British troops.

Camp Doha is the current regional headquarters of the U.S. Army. Camp Aridshan and the training camp Virginia are some of the significant bases here, with more than 8,000 soldiers stationed in areas bordering Iraq.

Qatar:

8,000 troops made up mostly of Air Force soldiers are stationed here at the Al Udeid and El Sailijah bases. Al Udeid, 19 miles outside of Qatar’s capital, Doha, is home to the longest runway in the Gulf region (15,000 feet) as well as hangars that can accommodate between 40 and 80 fighter aircraft, reconnaissance planes and bombers.

The airbase now serves as headquarters for the U.S-led air campaign against Iraq. The U.S. Central Command also has a mobile headquarters in El Sailijah, from where U.S. commander Gen. Tommy Franks is leading the military campaign.

United Arab Emirates:

More than 1,000 soldiers are stationed at the El Dhafra airbase near the capital Abu Dhabi. From here, U-2 surveillance jets and refueling jets will take off to supply aircraft that monitor Iraq's southern no-fly zone.

Diego Garcia:

The Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a part of the British Indian Territory, is located south of India and between Africa and Indonesia. The Navy and air force bases in the Indian Ocean serve as bases for heavy B-52 bombers, stealth bombers of the B-2 type, refueling- and transport jets as well as British "Nimrod" reconnaissance jets.

Oman:

More than 3,000 American soldiers are stationed in the Sultanate of Oman. An important base here is Al Seeb. B-1 bombers are stationed at the Thumrait air base in the southern part of the country. The British have also sent troops to the Sultanate.

Bahrain:

The Kingdom of Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet, which monitors the waters between India and East Africa with more than 20 ships and 15,000 soldiers. The fleet includes destroyers, frigates and submarines. The airbase Schaikh Isa, with some 2,000 soldiers, has been expanded and now forms the main base for American F-16 aircraft.

Djibouti:

About 2,000 elite troops from the naval, air and ground forces are stationed at Camp Lemonier at the mouth of the Red Sea, mainly to assist in the fight against terrorists in Yemen and Somalia. The deployment is coordinated by the USS Mount Whitney, the flagship of the Second Fleet.

Turkey:

Some 5,000 U.S. soldiers are stationed at the Incirlik air base. Though the Turkish parliament refused to allow the deployment of 62,000 American troops on its soil, the U.S. has been continuing its buildup of military equipment in Turkey. Among the 60 aircraft stationed there are U.S. special F-16 and F-15 fighters as well as British Jaguars, Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) reconnaissance planes, refueling and other heavy aircraft. This is where allied aircraft take off from to carry control exercises over northern Iraq. There are further bases in Diyarbakir and Batman.

Saudi Arabia:

The 10,000 U.S. soldiers stationed here are not allowed to actively participate in the military invasion of Iraq. American and British fighter aircraft are stationed in the hangar of the Prince Sultan base. Two Patriot missile battery units protect the nearby capital of Riyadh.

Navy troops:

Around 48,000 soldiers aboard ships and aircraft carriers are stationed in the region. The aircraft carriers USS Abraham Lincoln, USS Constellation, USS Harry S. Truman and USS Kitty Hawk are stationed in the Gulf, where they will soon be joined by the USS Nimitz. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is deployed in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean. Together, the ships have 70 aircraft on board. The small British flagship carrier HMS Ark Royal ,complete with elite seaborne Royal Marines is also cruising the Gulf.

Europe:

20,000 U.S. soldiers are ready and on-call should their services be required in the military invasion of Iraq.