"Even as the Pentagon is mulling plans to begin reducing the number of American combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan next spring, the military has more than $1.2 billion in construction under way or on the drawing board to upgrade 16 air bases throughout the Middle East and Southwest Asia. At a time when the United States military is bringing home troops from Europe, repositioning its forces in Asia and closing bases at home, the expansion underscores the continuing draw on resources to support the missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon is paying for most of the improvements to runways, control towers, airport ramps and lighting systems, but wealthy Persian Gulf states like Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain are picking up the tab for hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade facilities for their American tenants. At this sprawling air base, for instance, the Qatari government is spending nearly $400 million to build a state-of-the-art regional air operations center. The 100,000-square-foot, fortified headquarters is expected to be operating by July 2008."