As the Cold War drew to a close, other problems took its place. None was more threatening to American interests than Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in early August 1990. The Joint Chiefs of Staff had long viewed the Middle East and Southwest Asia as potential trouble spots, and over the years they steadily became more mindful of the region’s difficulties. Indicative of the growing importance they attached to the Middle East was their decision in 1983 to create a regional planning organization, the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM). While maintaining a limited U.S. presence in the area, USCENTCOM conducted combined training exercises with friendly countries, bolstered diplomatic support for U.S. interests, and coordinated multilateral protection of international shipping. Assuring unfettered access to the Persian Gulf oil fields was normally USCENTCOM’s top concern. But with the Soviet threat to Europe and an unstable situation on the Korean peninsula still claiming priority, the JCS had refused to allocate significant resources to the region on a permanent basis and had dealt with it in ad hoc fashion as the need arose