What are the consequences of a state break-up in the Arabian Gulf from USA prospuctive - Essay Example

Consequences of a break-up in the Arabian Gulf Arabian Gulf or simply Arabia is located in the Southwestern region of Asia and comprises of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, Oman and Yemen. Six out of these seven countries constitute the Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC. GCC provides coordination among the member countries and a platform to discuss state matters of military, economy and peace. The council was formulated in 1981 and was since then playing an active part in maintaining unity among the countries. It is the council’s duty to regulate matters like religion, finance, trade, tourism and administration. A joined military is yet another objective that has a dominant place in GCC’s agenda and has thus strengthened the Arabian Gulf. The nature of GCC changed however since US invasion of Iraq in 2003 and its objective became more economy-oriented rather than providing security to civilians.
Since disputes happen among any two bodies obeying nature of superiority and thus conflicts have risen often in the Council meetings. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in GCC and holds a spiritual importance for Muslims all over the world. It has long term disputes with UAE and Qatar; disputes which have now multiplied with the rise of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and ISIS and ISIL in the Arabian Peninsula. High point arrived when Qatar was ejected from the GCC (Critchlow 2014).
The council was created to maintain harmony, but it had failed to do so thus providing opportunity to the U.S to interfere in state matters and provide opportunities to the countries to adopt the methods proposed by American visionaries and government. The United States has always encouraged Gulf countries to act collectively and enforce security measures against Qaeda-affiliated military groups acting in Syria. This is in favor of their military plans against terrorism in the Arab world. The GCC’s plan to eject Qatar has met disapproval as Qatar houses the Al Udeid Air Base and Combined Air and Space Operations Center that aided US during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (Saab 2014). United States has strong alliance with Saudi Arabia but it needs to develop a new level of cooperation as both have different values and priorities but common interests (Cordesman 2014). Hence the Gulf countries and the United States of America both need to avoid state-breakup in the Arabian Gulf due to their own different reasons. The U.S has to support GCC in order to maintain security and eliminate Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS) which poses a threat to its national and international security. Any sort of breakup among the Gulf countries would play a role in weakening the U.S hold on Arab League and the Gulf.
Bibliography
Cordesman, Anthony H. The Need for a New “Realism” in the US-Saudi Alliance. 2014.
Critchlow, Andrew. Fractures in Arab Gulf alliance a greater threat to oil security than Islamic State. August 24, 2014. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/11053764/Fractures-in-Arab-Gulf-alliance-a-greater-threat-to-oil-security-than-Islamic-State.html (accessed January 18, 2015).
Saab, Bilal Y. Foreign Affairs-breakup in the Gulf. 2014. http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/141006/bilal-y-saab/break-up-in-the-gulf (accessed January 18, 2015). Read More