Mirage or Reality: Enabling Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Collective Defense
Abstract
The wicked problem of current Iranian activities represents the most significant nation-level threat to security in the Arabian Gulf region and continues to be of mutual interest to the United States and the six member-states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The primary vehicle available to USCENTCOM for enabling cooperation and building partner capacity within the GCC against the Iranian threat remains the Commander's Theater Security Cooperation (TSC) Plan. While specific obstacles remain outside the realm of USCENTCOM control, there are subtle actions the Commander can take to re-synchronize TSC activities and goals vis-a-vis the six member-states of the GCC to enable defense capabilities against an advancing Iranian threat. Using the lens of the developing Iranian threat, this paper identifies critical GCC political and military obstacles to conventional capability development at the individual member-state and joint GCC level. Additionally, the analysis reveals enablers and inhibitors resident within current USCENTCOM TSC activities. Finally, the paper advances short- and long-term recommendations for enabling tangible GCC military capability improvement and future collective security structure development.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 04, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA546355
Entities
People
- Andrew T. Steele
Organizations
- Naval War College