Inside Story: Can Tillerson Get Anti-Qatar Quartet to End GCC Crisis?

It's the worst dispute to hit this region since the founding of the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981. Now, a little more than a month into a blockade of Qatar imposed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt; the U.S. is taking an active diplomatic approach. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is visiting Saudi Arabia - after having made stops in Doha and Kuwait city over the last few days. He praised Qatar after it became the first regional power to sign a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. to fight terror financing. But can he change the positions of the blockading countries? | Presenter: Adrian Finighan | Guests: Ali Al Kandari - Professor of Contemporary Gulf History at Kuwait University; Fahad Al-Attiya - Qatar's Ambassador to Russia; David Hearst - Editor of the Middle East Eye.

Is Al Jazeera at the Heart of the GCC Crisis? -– The Listening Post

Diplomatic Spat: Several Gulf States Cut Ties with Qatar for Allegedly ‘Supporting Terrorism’

The Middle East has descended into a huge diplomatic row. Four Gulf countries: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE have severed diplomatic ties with Qatar. While Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have also closed their borders with the country. They accuse Doha of supporting terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of Arab states.

GCC Rift: Five Nations Cut Diplomatic Ties with Qatar

The Qatari government says it regrets the unjustified decision by four countries to cut diplomatic ties. Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are also imposing an air, sea, and land embargo. The Saudis accuse Qatar of supporting extremism and radicalism as well as media incitement, which Qatar denies. Al Jazeera's Hashem Ahelbarra explains.

British Prime Minister Seeks GCC Trade Deals

Britain's prime minister, Theresa May, is in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit.

As Britain leaves the European Union, her trip is aiming to strengthen trade and security ties in the Gulf,

Al Jazeera’s Hashem Ahelbarra reports.

Koweït : un «test médical» pour refuser le visa aux homosexuels

lePARISIEN.fr: L'information semble saugrenue. Elle est pourtant bien réelle. Le Koweït réfléchit à la mise en place d'un test médical afin de «détecter les homosexuels» lors des demandes de visa et ainsi leur interdire l'entrée sur le territoire. C'est le très sérieux quotitien «Kuwait Times» qui rapporte cette information surprenante. Aujourd'hui, les demandeurs d'un visa pour l'émirat sont déjà soumis à un contrôle médical. Un second examen clinique devrait donc s'y ajouter, afin de «détecter les homosexuels», indésirables dans le pays.

En plus du Koweït, les personnes désignées comme homosexuelles pourraient également se voir interdire l'accès aux autres pays membres du conseil de coopération du Golfe (GCC), qui comprend le Qatar, Oman, le Koweït, les Emirats arabes unis, Bahreïn ou encore l'Arabie saoudite. » | M.Pf. | Le Parisien.fr | mercredi 09 octobre 2013

Related »

The Rise of the Saudi Superstate
AINA: The 32nd summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council may be remembered as the dawn of the Caliphate with the Saudi proposal to accelerate the union of the six GCC States likely to dramatically change the region. The union is being described as "EU Style," but in practice it would be a larger version of the United Arab Emirates, a federation of tribal monarchies.

The combined entity would have a 1 trillion dollar GDP and some 35 percent of the world's oil reserves, giving it immeasurable influence on the global stage. And that nucleus of power and wealth would be used to consolidate its influence over rest of the region and the world. If the GCC integrates Yemen, it will be able to turn the Persian Gulf into the Arabian Gulf, and if it integrates Libya, Sudan and Iraq, then it will have a combined population of 100 million and be able to approach the 50 percent world oil reserves marker.

Whether or not the GCC can transition to a Muslim EU, in the words of its charter, "founded on the creed of Islam," is still an open question. In the last five years the GCC has struggled toward adopting a common market and a common currency, its unity undercut by suspicion of the House of Saud and internal rivalries. While Article Four of the GCC Charter had always made unity into a goal of the GCC and previous Riyadh Declarations had called for consolidating their Arab and Islamic identities into a regional union, there was never enough external pressure and internal promise to make that feasible.

Iran's nuclear program and the Arab Spring have changed all that. Saudi Arabia's suppression of Shiite protesters in Bahrain was the first significant use of the GCC's previously inept Peninsula Shield Force. The victory in Bahrain has kept its Sunni monarchy in power and made it dependent on Saudi backing which has also made its officials into the most enthusiastic proponents of the union.

Holding back the Arab Spring in Bahrain was not only a proxy victory against Iran, it also demonstrated that Saudi influence could hold off Western action against GCC members under its umbrella and gave added weight to Saud Al-Faisal's call for a combined military and foreign policy. Saudi Arabia can offer GCC members the protection of its enormous influence in the West, as well as one of the largest armies in the region, armed and trained by the United States, and an eventual nuclear umbrella.

The Obama Administration has left the nations of the region with very few options. They can either wait for America and Europe to hand them over to the Muslim Brotherhood on a democratic platter. They can become puppets of Iran. They can long for the return of a Turkish Ottoman Empire under the AKP. Or they can look to the Saudis for leadership and aid. » | Daniel Greenfield | Tuesday, May 16, 2012

Related material here and here

Gulf Considers Bahrain and Saudi Arabia Union
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Gulf leaders gathered in Riyadh on Monday to discuss developing their six-nation council into a union, a Saudi proposal likely to start with the kingdom and unrest-hit Bahrain.

But the proposed union between the regional kingpin Saudi Arabia and the fellow Sunni-ruled kingdom of Bahrain has been slammed by legislators in Shiite Iran.

The exact nature of this union, first floated by Saudi King Abdullah in December, remains unclear, but Bahraini State Minister for Information Samira Rajab said it could follow the "European Union model."

Pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat quoted a Gulf Cooperation Council official as saying that the summit might lead to a "declaration of intentions on a union between Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar" which Kuwait might join.

Remaining GCC members, the United Arab Emirates and Oman - whose respective leaders Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan and Sultan Qaboos are not attending the Riyadh talks - would later join the union, the daily added.

Bahrain Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman said on Sunday the "option of a (GCC) union has become urgent," adding that these nations must cooperate to ensure security in the region. » | Agencies | Monday, May 14, 2012

Inside Story - Expanding the GCC

Inside Story - The GCC's Rôle in Regional Conflicts
A Gulf mediation plan to resolve the Yemeni crisis raises concerns about the GCC's role in regional conflicts. Has the GCC lost credibility and could its regional role backfire?

Inside Story: Tensions in the Gulf
Internal unrest through the Arabian gulf.
 


But the country being painted as the aggressor is just 300 kilometres across the famous stretch of water - Iran.



The unrest is being billed as one between the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations and their Persian neighbour.



The foreign ministers of the six nations - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recently met in Riyadh. 



They released a statement criticising what they called Iran's blatant interference in internal affairs, particularly in Bahrain and Kuwait.

This comes after Iran's objection to Saudi Arabia sending in troops to Bahrain during the uprising there.
 


In return, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday the GCC statement was issued under the pressure of the US government and its allies.



This episode of Inside Story discusses what 'Iranian meddling' may or may not amount to, and just what the GCC and indeed Iran are achieving by ratcheting up the rhetoric at this time.



Inside Story, with presenter Kamahl Santamaria, discusses with guests: Hussein Shobokshi, a columnist for Asharq Alaw-sat newspaper; Ghanbar Naderi, a political commentator and jounalist; and Fahad Shulemi, a security analyst and a former colonel in the Kuwaiti army. 



This episode of Inside Story aired on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

Malaysia Supports Saudi Arabia, GCC Peace Actions in Bahrain
PEOPLE’S DAILY ONLINE: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Tuesday that Malaysia supports the initiatives taken by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries towards achieving peace, reconciliation and long-term stability in Bahrain.

Najib said in a statement issued through Malaysia's national news agency that the Malaysian government fully backs all sovereign decisions taken by the GCC allies, which aim at safeguarding stability and security in the region to ensure harmony and peace.

The prime minister also stressed that Malaysia denounces any terrorist-linked group that undermines the stability and security of Bahrain. » | Source: Xinhua | Tuesday, March 22, 2011

GCC: Bahrain King Commends Peninsula Shield Forces
GLOBAL ARAB NETWORK: "Your presence is a support and gives us strength," King Hamad said in a meeting with the commander and senior officers from the Peninsula Shield forces, deployed in Bahrain in line with a common defence agreement between the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.

King Hamad, cited by official media, said the deployment of the peninsula shield forces was not to restore domestic order in Bahrain but to "have the duty of defending any country of the GCC states." The Bahraini Monarch said there was an "external plot" which has been ongoing for at least 30 years targeting the GCC. He asserted that the plot has failed. He did not elaborate.

The GCC consists of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates [.] » | Mohammed Almasri | Monday, March 21, 2011

Qatar Has Sent Troops to Bahrain
AHRAM ONLINE: Qatar officials acknowledges sending troops to Bahrain as part of GCC forces

Qatari troops are part of the Gulf forces deployed to Bahrain to put down Shiite-led protests against the Sunni dynasty there, said a Qatari military official.

"The duty of the Qatari force participating in the Peninsula Shield force is to contribute in restoring order and security" in Bahrain, Qatar news agency QNA quoted Colonel Abdullah Al-Hajri as saying late Thursday.

This is the first official confirmation of Qatar's contribution to Gulf troops in Bahrain.

"As a Qatari force we are receiving our orders from the head of the joint Peninsula Shield Force. There are no Qatari forces outside the Peninsula Shield" in Bahrain, Hajri said.

Earlier this week, more than 1,000 Saudi troops and around 500 Emirati troops entered the strategic Gulf kingdom, home to the US Fifth Fleet.

The move was met with strong criticism from Iran and followed by Tehran and Manama withdrawing their respective ambassadors. » | AFP | Friday, March 18, 2011

Inside Story - Foreign Troops in Bahrain
As neighbouring countries send troops to Bahrain, are they containing instability or spreading it?

Bahrainis Cannot Be Subdued For Ever
THE GUARDIAN: The Saudi intervention has sectarianised the conflict even more, and thus may well have sealed the Bahrain regime's fate

While much of the world has been preoccupied with questions about a no-fly zone over Libya, Arab Gulf states have been busy establishing what might be called a "no-protest zone" in the Arabian peninsula.

Last week Saudi Arabia took an uncompromising stand against demonstrations on its own territory, declaring them both illegal and un-Islamic. Then, on Monday, it sent troops into Bahrain to assist the regime in quelling protesters there. The Saudis justified their action under a security agreement dating back to the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and known as Peninsula Shield.

This agreement, which involves the six Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait and Qatar), resulted in the creation of a joint military force intended to protect its members against external threats. As a communique from the GCC interior ministers put it in 1982: "Any aggression on a member state is aggression against the other states, and facing aggression is considered a joint responsibility."

The statement added: "Interference from any entity in the internal affairs of one of the member states is interference in the internal affairs of all the nations of the council."

There was no suggestion at the time that Peninsula Shield forces would be used to protect unrepresentative Gulf regimes from "aggression" or "interference" by their own citizens – and yet this is what has now happened. Continue reading and comment » | Brian Whitaker | Thursday, March 17, 2011

Saudi Arabia Closely Watching Bahrain

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Bahrain's Crackdown Wins Neighbors' Support >>> Joe Parkinson and Sam Dagher | Friday, February 18, 2011

Gulf Petro-powers to Launch Currency in Latest Threat to Dollar Hegemony
THE TELEGRAPH: The Arab states of the Gulf region have agreed to launch a single currency modelled on the euro, hoping to blaze a trail towards a pan-Arab monetary union swelling to the ancient borders of the Ummayad Caliphate.

“The Gulf monetary union pact has come into effect,” said Kuwait’s finance minister, Mustafa al-Shamali, speaking at a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait.

The move will give the hyper-rich club of oil exporters a petro-currency of their own, greatly increasing their influence in the global exchange and capital markets and potentially displacing the US dollar as the pricing currency for oil contracts. Between them they amount to regional superpower with a GDP of $1.2 trillion (£739bn), some 40pc of the world’s proven oil reserves, and financial clout equal to that of China.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar are to launch the first phase next year, creating a Gulf Monetary Council that will evolve quickly into a full-fledged central bank.

The Emirates are staying out for now – irked that the bank will be located in Riyadh at the insistence of Saudi King Abdullah rather than in Abu Dhabi. They are expected join later, along with Oman.

The Gulf states remain divided over the wisdom of anchoring their economies to the US dollar. The Gulf currency – dubbed “Gulfo” – is likely to track a global exchange basket and may ultimately float as a regional reserve currency in its own right. “The US dollar has failed. We need to delink,” said Nahed Taher, chief executive of Bahrain’s Gulf One Investment Bank.

The project is inspired by Europe’s monetary union, seen as a huge success in the Arab world. But there are concerns that the region is trying to run before it can walk. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Tuesday, December 2009

New Dark Age Alert! Qatar’s UN Ambassador Urges Prosecution for Blasphemy
THE NATIONAL: NEW YORK - A Gulf diplomat has urged foreign governments to prosecute individuals who make offensive and defamatory statements against Islam and other faiths during a heated debate at United Nations headquarters.

 Speaking on behalf of members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Nasser Abdulaziz al Nisr, Qatar’s ambassador to the United Nations, told delegates at a recent meeting that “freedom of expression” should not permit the abuse of religions.

The GCC speech marked the latest episode in a fractious debate that was raging even before Sept 2005, when the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten published 12 cartoons satirising the Prophet Mohammed.

 Speaking in New York, Mr Nisr described blasphemy as unacceptable, while western governments allege leaders from the Islamic world are trying to stifle basic freedoms and infringe the rights of non-Muslims.

“Our countries categorically reject all forms of incitement, discrimination, hostility, violence, attempts to justify the distortion of religions and hostility-based incitement of religions in the name of freedom of expression,” Mr Nisr said this week. “The responsibility rests, therefore, with the governments to address such conduct by legal and executive possible means, including amending legislation that allows such practices in the name of freedom of expression and opinion.”

Mr Nisr was speaking in advance of a vote in the UN General Assembly’s committee on human rights on a draft resolution intended to “combat defamation of religions”.

The draft resolution is supported by the 57-member Organisation of the Islamic Conference and has passed every year since 2005. Although not binding in international law, the resolution sets a global moral standard.

The most recent version of the resolution, which passed in December, emphasises that the freedom of expression “carries with it special duties and responsibilities” and may be “subject to limitations as are provided for by law”.

The cartoons in the Jyllands-Posten and their republication by a string of western newspapers provoked riots in parts of the Islamic world, boycotts on Danish goods and demands for prosecution of those responsible.

Denmark’s justice ministry this week rejected the third bid by seven Muslim lobby groups to take the newspaper to the Supreme Court for publishing the cartoons.

 Other cited examples of defamation of religion have included Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 address at the University of Regensburg and Salman Rushdie’s controversial 1988 novel The Satanic Verses.

A coalition of countries that advocate free speech, including the United States, is trying to thwart the OIC resolution this year by persuading more moderate Muslim nations to vote against it.

In publishing its annual report on global religious freedom last month, the US state department criticised the Muslim bloc for using the United Nations to “export” anti-blasphemy laws found in some of its member countries to the international level. >>> James Reinl, United Nations Correspondent | October 29, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Paperback (US) Barnes & Noble >>>
The Dawning of a New Dark Age – Hardcover (US) Barnes & Noble >>>