Prospects for Collective Security in the Gulf Following the Kuwait Crisis
Abstract
The history of the Arabian Gulf region shows a lot of commonality in the six states which form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Their shared heritage ranges from common colonial masters to common religion and language. Because of their oil wealth and, above all, similar systems of government (i.e., monarchical), they face common threats, either from those states that are not blessed with oil or from those regimes that are opposed to monarchical forms of government. Spurred by the Islamic revolution in Iran and Iran-Iraq war, and building on shared economic interests, the six states formed an organization (the GCC) and formulated a collective security strategy in order to safeguard their security and perhaps their very survival. The Kuwait crisis has highlighted several weaknesses in precrisis arrangements and lessons relevant to formulating a new strategy. The first concern is to increase the size and capability of the GCC Rapid Deployment Force (RDF) in order to deter internal as well as external threats. If deterrence to external threats again fails in the future, the RDF should be capable of providing sufficient resistance until the arrival of outside assistance. In order to avoid having outside forces permanently located in the region, the GCC states will have to provide increased levels of Host Nation Support (HNS) to facilitate rapid deployment of allied forces.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA236819
Entities
People
- Abdullah A. Al-marhuby
Organizations
- United States Army War College