The United States and a Gulf Security Architecture: Policy Considerations
Abstract
As we think about what kind of security architecture the United States would like to see take root in the Persian Gulf, and the role that the United States may end up playing in that architecture, we have to start from two fundamental questions: 1) What do we--the United States--want such a regional security architecture to achieve? 2) What is the political basis for cooperation among the governments comprising the architecture? Before addressing any of those questions, I should say a word about what I mean by "architecture." It is not an ideal term, but alternatives like "structure" or "framework" seem to me to be worse. We need to be careful about prejudging the institutional form of the region's post- Saddam security arrangements and therefore to avoid using language that automatically implies a rigid set of formal organizations and rules. I intend "architecture" to refer generically to a collection of arrangements--formal, informal or both--that operate coherently with each other to achieve our security objectives. Perhaps the analogy is with landscape architecture--an intentionally shaped environment, not a fixed building. In other words, the pre-war Gulf security architecture could be said to have comprised the Gulf Cooperation Council, U.S. bilateral agreements with and presence in the GCC states, the U.S.-U.K.-enforced no-fly and no reinforcement zones in Iraq, UN sanctions against Iraq, bilateral relations between various Gulf states and Iran, and so on. What do we want to achieve? Historically, we have thought about Gulf security predominantly in terms of threats to the region,whether we were talking about the USSR, Nasser's Egypt, Iran, or Iraq. Despite 9/11, we still have to consider such conventional threats. The people of the world still depend on Gulf oil and gas supplies for their well being and development. 9/11 did not change that.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA524592
Entities
People
- Joseph Mcmillan
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School