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Even as the Pentagon draws down US troops in Afghanistan, it plans to base a sizable contingent of forces in nearby Kuwait 鈥� with the clear purpose of sending a signal to Iran.

The signal 鈥� that the United States plan to maintain a credible force in the region 鈥� comes at a vital time for the US military, says Michael Singh, a former senior adviser for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council.

鈥淭he Middle East is very turbulent right now 鈥� it鈥檚 hard to even imagine all of the different types of conflicts that will challenge our interests,鈥� adds Mr. Singh.听

A Senate Foreign Relations Committee report released Tuesday stresses the 鈥渕yriad鈥� political and security challenges in the region, 鈥渇rom the Iranian nuclear program to the threat of terrorism.鈥�

But at the top of the list is the ongoing friction with Iran, analysts tend to agree.

鈥淐learly the day where we had massive US troop presence in Iraq and Afghanistan are coming to a close,鈥� Singh says. When coupled with what Singh describes as a US response to the Arab Spring that 鈥渉as in many ways been aloof,鈥� he adds, 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 a perception in the region that the US is pulling back.鈥澛�

Singh says it鈥檚 a perception that Iran is seeking to disseminate for its own purposes 鈥� 鈥渢hat America is leaving the region because they have driven US forces out.鈥� And, he adds, it's in the Pentagon鈥檚 best interests 鈥渢o show this narrative is false.鈥�

At the same time, 鈥渢here are still lingering questions over our military posture in the region鈥� in the wake of looming defense budget cuts and the Pentagon鈥檚 strategic pivot toward Asia and the Pacific, notes Singh, now managing director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee report estimated that the number of US forces in Kuwait is likely to be some 13,500 following the US drawdown in Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has said that he ultimately envisions some 40,000 US troops stationed in the Middle East region.

Yet the report warns, too, that the US 鈥渕ust carefully shape its military presence so as not to create a popular backlash,鈥� but at the same time retain 鈥渢he capability to protect the free flow of critical natural resources and to provide a counterbalance to Iran.鈥澛�

This means preserving the 鈥渓ily pad鈥� bases throughout the Persian Gulf, 鈥渨hich permits the rapid escalation of military force in case of emergency.鈥� This includes keeping bases聽in Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates.听

There is an increasingly urgent need, too, to stem the flow of weapons and people out of Libya, warned Amanda Dory, deputy secretary of defense for African Affairs this week.听

US troops in Kuwait will be 鈥渙ne part of a broader deployment in the region,鈥� Singh notes. 鈥淭he Iranians will have to look at our aircraft carrier presences, our fighter presence, and at these troops in Kuwait.鈥澛�

The troop level in Kuwait 鈥渋sn鈥檛 just symbolic,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭hese troops enable us to do real and significant things 鈥� conduct exercises, coordinate with allied troops in the region. It鈥檚 a sufficiently sizable troop presence that we can do things with 鈥� and it will give the Iranians pause.鈥�