Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi
IN 1982, I was in Bahrain — my first visit ever. It was celebration time. The island nation was happy and proud. The official and popular mood was festive. People were hospitable and eager to please. They had a good reason. The Gulf Cooperation Council was convening for its second summit.
Head of Gulf Arab states were arriving with large delegations in Manama airport, one after the other. Streets, buildings and cars were decorated with leaders’ pictures and the six nations’ flags, and people were waving them.
GCC is a pioneering project, envisioned by the Emir of Kuwait, Jaber Al-Sabah during a meeting in 1976 with UAE President Sheikh Zaid Al-Nuhian in Abu Dhabi. It couldn’t wait longer.
The world around us was boiling. Iran had a new regime. The “Islamic Republic of Iran” succeeded a constitutional empire with thousands of years’ legacy. The revolution brought Ayatollah Khomeini back from his chosen exile in Paris, with the support of the US, Britain and France, as recent revelations showed.
The Shah of Iran had to leave on an American “advice,” and the army did not interfere (following the same advice). The new republic was soon established (1979) with a constitution that stipulates a certain school of Shiism (Aljafaria) as the official religion of the nation (excluding Sunnah and other sects and religions), and calls for the exportation of that brand of Islam in the form of revolution.
Iraq was their first target, and Saddam knew if he had waited longer, a sectarian conflict would have burned his country to ashes, and Iran would have used the opportunity to take back what it regards as its historical land.
Saddam calculated that if he waited longer, Iran would regain its stability and strength, while Iraq would be weakened by such religious strife. He chose the timing of an inevitable war on Sept. 22, 1980, hoping to finish it sooner but Iran finally accepted UN peace plan in August 1988.
The volatile Gulf region was caught in the crossfire. Kuwait was hit by Iranian missiles and coup attempts. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain’s Shiite minorities were targeted by Iranian propaganda and influence. Oil tankers were hit by both countries. And falling oil prices and production led to recession in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. Solidarity was urgently and vitally needed, so the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was born in Riyadh in May 1981, as a political and economic alliance of six Arab monarchies — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
Their combined armed forces comprise over a million active soldiers with top Western military training and equipment. The Saudi-led Peninsula Shield Force was established in 1982 with 100,000 soldiers. The unified economic agreement between the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council was signed in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 11, 1981.
Stated objectives included: Formulating similar regulations in various fields such as religion, finance, trade, customs, tourism, legislation, and administration; Fostering scientific and technical progress in industry, mining, agriculture, water and animal resources; Establishing scientific research centers; Setting up joint ventures; Unified military (Peninsula Shield Force); Encouraging cooperation of the private sector; Strengthening ties between member states’ peoples; And establishing a common currency.
A 2011 proposal to transform the GCC into a “Gulf Union” (as envisioned in its constitution) with tighter economic, political and military coordination has been advanced by Saudi Arabia, a move meant to counterbalance the Iranian influence in the region.
Thirty-five years since its inception, the project is still standing, prospering and making more sense everyday. Iran, the “mother ship of evil,” is still exporting terror, war and religious conflicts to its Arab neighbors and the world beyond. Its Revolutionary Guards and Shiite militias are marching on Arab countries, killing Sunni Arabs, destroying lands and running proxy governments.
The danger to the healthy Arab states that hasn’t been infected with Iranian virus, yet, is present and clear. More so in the Arabian Gulf region. The US, French and UK officials have spoken before, but the British PM, Theresa May, had the last word. In her televised speech to the GCC Summit in Bahrain (Dec. 7, 2016), she promised to help Gulf states “push back” against aggressive regional actions by Iran.
“We must... continue to confront state actors whose influence fuels instability in the region, so I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and to the wider Middle East.”
She added: “We must... work together to push back against Iran’s aggressive regional actions.”
The Manama GCC Summit has concluded on a positive note. Union is back on the radar screen. It may not be fully implemented, or at once. It could start with the ready members, and be like 5+2, waiting for, say, Oman and Yemen to fully join. In any case, we would be better off unified... hopefully by 2020, if not sooner.
_ Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at kbatarfi@gmail.com. Follow him at Twitter:@kbatarfi
