Oman: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
Abstract
Prior to the wave of unrest that has swept the Middle East in 2011, the United States had consistently praised Sultan Qaboos bin Sa'id Al Said for opening up the political process in the Sultanate of Oman, beginning this initiative in the early 1980s without prompting or pressure from the citizenry. The gradual liberalization allowed Omanis to express their views on issues but without significantly limiting Qaboos' role as major decision maker. Some Omani human rights activists and civil society leaders, along with many younger Omanis, who have always been unsatisfied with the implicit and explicit limits to political rights in Oman, believe the democratization process had stagnated over the past five years. This disappointment within Oman may have proved deeper and broader than most experts believed when protests broke out in several Omani cities in late February 2011, apparently sparked by grievances similar to those that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on February 11. Still, the generally positive views of Qaboos, coupled with economic measures, appears to have enabled his regime to calm the unrest. The stakes for the Administration and Congress in Oman's stability are considerable. Oman is a long-time U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf. It has allowed U.S. access to its military facilities for virtually every U.S. military operation in and around the Gulf since 1980, despite the sensitivities in Oman and throughout the Middle East about a U.S. military presence there. Oman also has fully and consistently supported U.S. efforts to achieve a Middle East peace by publicly endorsing the peace treaties that have been achieved between Israel and some of its Arab neighbors, and by occasionally hosting Israeli political leaders or meeting with them outside Oman.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 13, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA543779
Entities
People
- Kenneth Katzman
Organizations
- Library of Congress