March 22, 2011
Last week, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), composed of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain, sent Saudi soldiers and UAE police across the causeway from Saudi territory into Bahrain, as supporters of a Sunni Muslim monarchy, against massive protests by the Shia Muslim majority on the island.
Simultaneously, the Arab League drew back from its previous endorsement of international action against the murderous regime of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya. Nevertheless, within three days the Western-led bombing of the Libyan dictator’s captive territory had begun.
Now, two GCC members, Qatar and the UAE, have joined the coalition against Qaddafi. Qatar was the first among them to send aircraft to bolster the no-fly zone.
On Monday, March 21, Bahraini king Hamad Isa bin Al Khalifa thanked the Saudis and the rest of the GCC for rescuing his country from an “external plot” – language widely interpreted as a reference to expansionist intentions by Iran. Bahrain and Iran had already mutually expelled each other’s diplomats. And according to the Washington Post, Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa has switched back to solidarity with the campaign against Qaddafi.
Continue reading Gulf Cooperation Council Between Two Fires in Bahrain and Libya by Stephen Schwartz
