ABU DHABI — As an indication of how serious the Gulf states are getting about security, on March 7, Kuwait held its first military parade in more than 30
years.
The sheikdom's military displayed F/A-18 fighter-jets, AH-64D Apache
Longbow attack helicopters and British- and Russian-origin main battle tanks
and armored personnel carriers.
What's more, Kuwait is calling on its neighbor states in the Gulf Cooperation Council to join it in developing a
strategy against Iran and other external threats.
Kuwaiti Chief of Staff Air Marshal Fahd Hamad Al Amir said such strategy must address joint defense of the waters of the Gulf.
In an address to the Gulf security conference in Abu Dhabi on March 6,
Al
Amir said GCC states must launch an immediate effort to generate trust
required for regional defense. His address, read by Brig. Gen. Ahmad
Rahmani, head of Kuwait's Joint Army Operations Staff, called for a series
of
steps to increase GCC deterrence.
Al Amir said the GCC must bolster the Peninsula Shield regional force.
He said this must be preceded by agreement on joint military stategy and
restoration of GCC military capability.
The Kuwaiti military chief pointed to the Iranian threat. Al Amir said
the GCC must bridge the gap in military capabilities with Teheran.
Al Amir said GCC states were also threatened by demography, a reference
to the rise of Shi'ite communities. He also cited the huge foreign labor
population in the Gulf Arab states.
In contrast to the absence of a military strategy, Al Amir said the GCC
has drafted a formula for counter-insurgency cooperation. He said such
cooperation was vital to confront what he termed the "growing fundamentalist
threat."
