The six Arab states in the Saudi peninsula are preparing for the coming war in Iraq in several ways. While they have consistently called upon Saddam Hussein to comply with the United Nations and avoid a war, they are also preparing militarily and agreeing to lock their gates to Iraqi refugees, should they begin to flow southwards once the US bombs start falling.
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided this week, at a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to approve sending units of the ?al-Jazeera Shield? military force to Kuwait in order to protect it against a possible Iraqi attack, reports the website ArabicNews.com. The Kuwaiti cabinet, it was reported, expressed its gratitude over the GCC step, ?which ensures the unity of the GCC member states.?
Currently, the ?al-Jazeera Shield? units are all in Saudi Arabia, where they were deployed ten years ago - in what was ?described as a preventive measure,? ArabicNews.com explains. To date, the force has been employed on the Iraqi border alone. In 2001, the GCC increased in the size of ?al-Jazeera Shield" forces to 20,000 troops. The Shield forces are in addition to local armies, and American forces deployed throughout the Gulf states. While Saudi Arabia stresses that it will not be involved in the war, the other states in the GCC have anxiously provided facilities for the American army: Bahrain hosts the American 5th Fleet, Kuwait hosts 51,000 American soldiers, Oman provides bases, and Qatar will be the headquarters for the central leadership in case of an American offensive against Saddam Hussein?s regime.
ArabicNews.com reported that, in addition to the military matters, ?the [GCC] ministers decided to form ?a crisis commission? in charge of following up developments... in the Gulf region.? The GCC urged Baghdad to honor ?the UN resolutions and disclose banned weapons if they exist.?
A more notable decision taken at the GCC meeting, however, was the agreement, reported by the Arab website, to prevent ?the flow of the Iraqi refugees to the Gulf territories in case a war takes place.?
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) decided this week, at a meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to approve sending units of the ?al-Jazeera Shield? military force to Kuwait in order to protect it against a possible Iraqi attack, reports the website ArabicNews.com. The Kuwaiti cabinet, it was reported, expressed its gratitude over the GCC step, ?which ensures the unity of the GCC member states.?
Currently, the ?al-Jazeera Shield? units are all in Saudi Arabia, where they were deployed ten years ago - in what was ?described as a preventive measure,? ArabicNews.com explains. To date, the force has been employed on the Iraqi border alone. In 2001, the GCC increased in the size of ?al-Jazeera Shield" forces to 20,000 troops. The Shield forces are in addition to local armies, and American forces deployed throughout the Gulf states. While Saudi Arabia stresses that it will not be involved in the war, the other states in the GCC have anxiously provided facilities for the American army: Bahrain hosts the American 5th Fleet, Kuwait hosts 51,000 American soldiers, Oman provides bases, and Qatar will be the headquarters for the central leadership in case of an American offensive against Saddam Hussein?s regime.
ArabicNews.com reported that, in addition to the military matters, ?the [GCC] ministers decided to form ?a crisis commission? in charge of following up developments... in the Gulf region.? The GCC urged Baghdad to honor ?the UN resolutions and disclose banned weapons if they exist.?
A more notable decision taken at the GCC meeting, however, was the agreement, reported by the Arab website, to prevent ?the flow of the Iraqi refugees to the Gulf territories in case a war takes place.?