20 - 26 September 2001
Issue No.552
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 20 - 26 September 2001 Issue No.552 |
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Shoulder to shoulder?
The Gulf region is uncertain where to stand after the US declared war on terrorism, reports Ayman Ali from Dubai
olted by US preparation for a protracted war on international terrorism, the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is looking nervously for ways to take a balanced stand. The GCC members (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Qatar and Oman) have to meet their commitments as close allies of the United States. After all, it was the US which helped liberate Kuwait from Iraq's occupation, and continues to provide protection for the area's regimes. But despite general sympathy in the Gulf for the American people, most Gulf nationals are unenthusiastic about supporting US military action in the region when, over the past year, they have seen the US backing Israel's aggression against the Palestinians.
Though religious leaders across the Gulf denounced the attacks of 11 September, they stopped shy of supporting a possible American strike on the Muslim population in Afghanistan. Saudi Arabia, in particular, finds itself in a delicate position. As custodian of Islam's Holiest sites, it has a duty to defend Islam from bias and defamation. But at the same time, the Saudis are close allies of the US and US troops are stationed on their soil. They have also suffered from attacks against Americans (in 1995 in Riyadh and 1996 in Khobar).
There is yet another complication. Though the Saudi government stripped Osama Bin Laden, prime suspect for last week's attacks, of his Saudi passport in 1994, King Fahd felt the need to say, Monday, that he wanted to disassociate the kingdom from Saudi-born terror suspect Osama Bin Laden. "The custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (King Fahd) reiterated that the kingdom of Saudi Arabia will stand by the US and support it and cooperate with it in combating terrorism wherever it is and fight it in all its forms," the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.
Despite this solidarity, Saudi Arabia, along with Pakistan and the UAE, is one of three countries recognising the rule of the Taliban in Afghanistan, where Bin Laden is thought to reside. The Pakistani leadership, considering US demands to facilitate a strike against Afghanistan, consulted Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. The Gulf advice was clear: take those measures that disassociate you and us from terror charges. But the Gulf states have not been totally complaisant to the US. Saudi Arabia, along with Egypt, reportedly wants international endorsement of any US military action, and is insisting on a Security Council resolution authorising the use of force.
Gulf leaders are also trying to link any cooperation with the US to US pressure on Israel to stop aggression against Palestinians. UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan telephoned US President George Bush on Monday to reaffirm the UAE's policy of opposition to terrorism in all its forms, saying, "terrorism is repugnant to Islam and to other divinely-revealed religions" and that terror is "a mortal enemy of humanity as a whole." Al- Nahyan also reaffirmed the readiness of the UAE to cooperate in fighting terrorism, in accordance with long-stated policies. At least one of the suspects in the attacks is reportedly a UAE national. But Al-Nahyan added that the United States and the international community should also work to end Israeli terrorist acts in the occupied Palestinian territories, so that people around the world do not perceive inconsistency. Meanwhile, the UAE is reviewing its relations with the Taliban. And as expected, Kuwait and Qatar fully support the US.
The US navy in the Gulf declined to disclose any information about military forces or naval movements in the area. The normally informative Pentagon Web sites were shut down or "under repair." "We will not be saying anything for the time being," a US navy spokesman said at the Jufair base in Bahrain. No visitors were allowed on the sprawling base, and its security status remains at "delta", the highest level of alert short of war. A list of overseas US military bases normally available on the US department of defence Internet site was also wiped off. US embassies and consulates have advised US citizens in the region to be ready to leave at any moment.
Apart from the US, Britain has a large military presence in the Gulf. The British government said Monday that it was tightening security at its Middle East bases. British sources added that the near 20,000 British troops on exercise in the Gulf region could be deployed in a military response to last week's terror attacks.
Britain's forces in the area include a naval task force of 27 ships led by the carrier HMS Illustrious, on joint exercise with Omani forces; a permanent army base in Cyprus; and some 1,000 Royal Air Force personnel stationed in southern Turkey, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, largely to help the United States patrol the no-fly zones over Iraq.
All these developments will affect the region, which relies heavily on expatriates. Tourists are cancelling hotel bookings following the terrorist attacks. Tourism industry officials predict that this could continue for some time if the US retaliates. Other developments will also affect the Gulf economies. Gulf investments in the US, worth several hundred billion dollars, are likely to return home in view of the terrorist attack and fears of an asset freeze.
According to reports, Saudi investors, whose foreign assets are estimated at $600 billion, are expected to suffer particularly, thanks to the anticipated losses and turmoil in global markets, especially in mutual funds and insurance. Insurance companies have suffered the biggest loss with the value of Saudi investments in joint funds and local and foreign banks estimated at $35 billion. Bankers also noted that Gulf currencies, which are pegged to the dollar, are not likely to be affected. But there is a fear that US strikes could affect the oil industry.
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