Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)
As in Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and elsewhere, rapprochement between traditional rivals, regional integration, and the development of a cooperative security architecture offer the best hope for a lasting stability in the Persian Gulf. The kernel for this regional security framework already exists: the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which was founded in 1981 by Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). …
The strategic environment in the Gulf is poised to change dramatically as the United States withdraws from Iraq. For starters, Iraq is no longer an expansionist threat to the Arabian Peninsula; thus for the first time, the GCC may well be able to work with Iraq , rather than against it. …
Of course, a truculent Iran poses a potent obstacle to developing a cooperative security order for the Gulf. If the regime in Tehran continues its belligerent rhetoric and proceeds with its nuclear program, the GCC would have to focus on collective defense against Iran instead of focusing on the collective security of the region… This prospect provides good reason for the United States to bring Iran to heel, not by bombing it, but by pursuing a cautious strategy of normalization that ultimately undermines its hardliners and guides Iran back to the regional fold. Access the full article>>
