ABU DHABI — The Gulf Cooperation Council has abandoned efforts at
military integration and coordination.
Instead, the six GCC states intend to develop independently with help
from Western allies. Smaller GCC states, including Bahrain and Qatar, were
expected to rely increasingly on the United States for military support.
"The situation is unlikely to change in the near future," a report by
analyst Matteo Legrenzi for the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center said. "In
fact, recently tension seems to have resurfaced between Saudi Arabia and
other GCC member states."
In December 2005, the GCC rejected a Saudi proposal for increased
training and coordination of the GCC's Peninsula Force, Middle East Newsline reported. Instead, GCC leaders
agreed to suspend development of Peninsula Shield, based in Saudi Arabia,
while examining ways to reorganize the force.
"In particular, Qatar has achieved increasing independence in its
security policies thanks to its increasing importance to the United States
as a logistical hub," the report, published in the center's Security and
Terrorism bulletin in July 2006, said. "There is an essential problem of
trust within the GCC that prevents a serious integrated defense policy to
emerge. At any given point in the life of the organization one or more of
the smaller states is fearful of the Saudi hegemony that would result from
implementing an effectively integrated defense policy."
The report said GCC states prefer relying on Western weapons suppliers
and trainers rather than bolstering regional capabilities. Legrenzi ruled
out the prospect of a centralized GCC command similar to NATO.
"There is a recognition that self-sufficiency in external defense
matters is simply beyond the grasp of the six member states for now and that
Saudi hegemony would be too high a price to pay for a truly integrated
defense policy," the report said. "As it is often the case the technical
aspects of military cooperation reflect broader political considerations and
are at the same time symptomatic of the status of intra-GCC relations."
The report said Peninsula Shield, with the exception of an
administrative structure, no longer exists. The center said the force, which
in 2003 numbered about 8,000, consists of one Saudi Army brigade. A second
brigade, based on the contribution of other GCC states, was said to lack
war-fighting capabilities.
"There is no strategic consensus on who the GCC should guard against,"
the report said. "Kuwait, Oman and the UAE insisted on a proviso that when
the force enters one member's territory the command structure reverts from
Saudi Arabia to that of the host country. This insistence underlines the
preoccupation of smaller member states with Saudi meddling into their
internal affairs and underlines the symbolic nature of joint military
enterprises."
