The military base is there to protect the regime. It’s easier to deal with a small monarchy with no transparency than a democracy. And they make for a good enemy of other local countries keeping just enough zest in the region for the weapons to keep flowing and the figureheads to keep toppling, but still allowing for a steady supply of oil.

History of Modern Middle East by William Cleveland is a good resource:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/64594.A_History_of_the_M...