US military base construction was driven partly by oil interests in Saudi Arabia.

Evidence

By June 1945, Germany had surrendered, and the military had determined that there was no need to use Dharan for the war against Japan. Still, the secretaries of war, state, and the navy pushed to continue construction at the site, arguing that “immediate construction of this field used initially for military purposes and ultimately for civil aviation would be a strong showing of American interest in Saudi Arabia and thus tend to strengthen the political integrity of that country where vast oil reserves now are in American hands.” — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 81

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to broader literature on oil and US Middle East policy; foreshadows the base-to-intervention pattern Vine develops. — connects to: Gulf oil monarchy security, not democracy, drives US Mideast policy
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 81