Monday Meeting Faces Obstacles to Form Political Union
The heads of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf will meet on Monday
to discuss formation of a proposed “GCC Arab Union” in response to what they
perceive as growing threats from Iran and the changing political environment
after the recent Arab uprisings.
Saudi Arabia is already expected to announce a union with Bahrain
whose own monarchy is being threatened by a rising popular discontent. But the
further expansion of such union would faces immense challenges. The smaller GCC
states fear domination by Saudi Arabia.
Qatar in particular does not want to lose its newly found status of a
rich country, rapidly being developed, and increasingly asserting itself as a
serious player in regional and Arab politics. This is the country that has founded
Al Jazeera, the most watched news network in the Arab world and one of the best
in the world, acted aggressively and triumphantly in Libya and is now, along
with the Saudis, leading the Arab world to isolate Assad’s regime in Syria. A membership
in a GCC Arab Union might bring an end to the independence required to be as
active and carry such projects.
On Monday, the GCC (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and
Oman) might instead form consultative commissions to coordinate foreign and
defense policies, without diluting their national sovereignty.
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