Democratic Palestine : 12 (ص 25)
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- Democratic Palestine : 12 (ص 25)
- المحتوى
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Apart from Oman, the Gulf states however are not happy
to admit the US connection, and Kuwait has, as the only real
advocate of non-alignment, often expressed dissatisfaction
with the policy of Sultan Qaboos. Nevertheless, the General
Secretary of the GCC in 1983 made this comment to the yearly
Omani-American military exercises on Omani soil: «| would not
say that it really undermines our collective approach» (4)!!
The dependence on and alliance with US imperialism
becomes further clearcut when one takes a closer look at some
details in the GCC «Security Pact»:
1. Formation of a joint military unit - the Gulf
Deployment Force
The preparations to establish a joint military force within
the GCC have practically been going on since 1982. The unit
consists of smaller units from all member states and is
stationed in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi officer is head of the Gulf
Deployment Force.
In November 1983 the first joint military exercises were
conducted in the United Arab Emirates under the codename of
«Peninsula Shield». Every year the GCC carries out these ma-
neuvers including both defensive and offensive weaponry, and
every time the leading officers claim the ability of the Gulf
states to defend themselves. After «Peninsula Shield no.1» a
US military advisor had this comment: «The maneuvers
showed us how far the Gulf states have come, but also how
badly they need us»(5)!!
Besides the dependence on US support, the reactionary
monarchies face a common problem, namely the bad qualifi-
cations of their national armies. Most of them depend on milit-
ary support from other reactionary states such as Egypt, Jor-
dan and Pakistan. Thus between 20,000 and 30,000 Pakistani
security troops are stationed in Saudi Arabia. 1m Oman several
Egyptian officers serve in the Sultan's army which is under the
command of more than 500 British officers. The Omani intelli-
gence network at large is commanded by Jordanians.
2. Development of sophisticated weapons
Another central aspect of the Gulf Security Pact is the
build-up of an advanced anti-aircraft missile system and super-
vision and communication equipment which runs to $ 6 billion
for 1984-86 alone. One of the key parts is the Saudi AWACS
aircrafts. However, the Saudis are not able to use these
sophisticated planes without assistance from American
advisors. According to a report published by the US Defence
Department «..the nature of the AWACS is so complex that US
personnel will be required to maintain key elements of the sys-
tem for its entire life... The withdrawal of US support for the
Saudi AWACS would quickly result in the system becoming
non-operational» (6)!
New electronic equipment supplied by imperialist countries for the Saudi
security forces
With such information one must surely question the ability
of the Gulf regimes to manage on their own. It is also well-
known that American advisors are the chief architects behind
the modernization of the Saudi armed forces. Not even 1000
declarations about «self-reliance» can remove these facts.
3. Standardization of weaponry
The GCC efforts to integrate also include standardization
of weapons and a joint arms industry. So far $ 1.5 billion have
been invested in this project. At the same time, the US Ad-
ministration has launched a major sales campaign for US
weapons arguing that they would make it easier for US allies to
fight together with the US army against common enemies!
lronically, Washington has often been forced to cancel
valuable deals due to pressure from the powerful Zionist lobby.
For example it succeeded in preventing a delivery of Stinger
missiles to Kuwait last year. This case among others reflects
the US dilemma in the Middle East of protecting the Zionist
state and simultaneously being a loyal friend to the pro-
western Arab regimes.
Who are they afraid of?
No other conclusion can be drawn than that the claimed
«self-reliance» is a fraud. As a whole, the GCC must be consi-
dered as an instrument for imperialist interests in the Gulf
within the context of the «Carter/Reagan Doctrine». The
reason behind the efforts to hide the American presence in the
area is simply that most Gulf regimes fear a popular resistance
as it occured in Iran.
However, one question remains: Who are they afraid of?
What forces are the dynasties and US imperialism investing
billions of dollars to protect themselves against? The answer is
given in the above mentioned Saudi document from 1981, in
which various «aggressors» are described.
One is characterized as «extremist Arab organizations»,
that is the national liberation movements, such as the People's
Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Popular Front and
National Liberation Front in Bahrain. The category probably
also includes various pro-lranian Islamic groups which, for
example, were claimed responsible for a coup attempt in Bah-
rain in 1981.
Membership in a political organization is enough to be
considered «subversive». In its report for 1984, Amnesty Inter-
national verifies 16 of such cases in Bahrain alone, where the
activists were sentenced to prison for 7 years (7).
Besides the progressive national forces, Saudi Arabia
mentions «the adventurous foreign policy of certain Arab
states».
Also the USSR is mentioned as a threat in case of super-
power confrontation. However, President Reagan’s paranoia
about «Soviet aggression» behind every local or regional con-
flict is not shared by the majority of GCC members. The main
threat for them is the internal opposition forces and then, of
course, the war between Iran and Iraq.
GCC and the Gulf war
Today an escalation of the Gulf war constitutes the
greatest danger for an imperialist invasion. The US policy was
Clearly stated by Mr. Reagan in 1983 when he declared that:
«,.the free world could not stand by and allow anyone to close
the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf» (8).
According to official statements the GCC takes a neutral
stand to the war, but in reality Iraq is supported heavily. The
25 - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 12
- تاريخ
- نوفمبر ١٩٨٥
- المنشئ
- Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
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