冷战后美国中东军事基地的战略调整

On the Strategic Restructuring of the U.S.Middle East Military Bases Since the End of the Cold War

海外军事基地是美国向全球关键地区投射军事力量、巩固联盟体系、干预地区事务、保护海外利益的重要手段。不同于在欧洲和亚太,美国在中东地区未能形成高度机制化的安全架构,其中东军事联盟体系具有脆弱性和动态性。冷战后美国在中东盟国的军事基地部署经历了"扩张——收缩——再扩张——再收缩"的周期性变化,其分别于1991年、2001年和2009年起实施了三次重大调整,依次表现为集中化、机动化和小型化。美国中东军事基地的调整内容包括战略重心的迁移、责任区的变更、驻军规模的变化和基地功能的拓展,其调整过程主要受地区格局变化、美国决策者认知、基地政治化和第三方的反制等因素的共同影响。未来美国中东军事基地的调整将从依靠中东大国转向依靠具有战略意义的中东小国,从建立威胁导向型军事基地转向建立任务导向型军事基地,从维持"传统"军事基地转向建立"睡莲式"小型基地。

Foreign military bases are crucial tools for the U.S.to project its global power,consolidate its alliance system,interfere in the regional affairs and safeguard its overseas interests.Different from its presence in Western Europe and the Asia-Pacific,a fully institutionalized security mechanism has yet to take shape in the Middle East,and the U.S.alliance system in the region is fragile and volatile.The post-Cold War era has witnessed four periods of Washington's military base deployment in the Middle East,i.e.expansion,shrinking,re-expansion and re-shrinking,with three major readjustments starting in 1991,2001 and 2009,featuring concentration,mobilization and miniaturization respectively.The U.S.Middle East base readjustments include the restructuring of its strategic focus,areas of responsibility,number of personnel and base functions.The readjustment is determined by the evolution of the regional patterns,the perception of the U.S.decision-makers,the foreign base politicization as well as the counterbalancing measures by the third party being checked and contained.In the foreseeable future,the U.S.will be less dependent on big regional powers,but will designate the lesser Middle East powers as its new pivots of foreign military base deployment;it will evolve from threat-oriented military bases to task-oriented military bases,and from 'traditional' military bases to 'lily pad' bases.