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Neighbors rally to the defense of
Kuwait
By N Janardhan
DUBAI -
When US-led forces launch an offensive into Iraq, the
job of shoring up Kuwait's defenses will rest with a
multinational force from the six Gulf Cooperation
Council (GCC) countries known as the Peninsula Shield.
After a meeting of the council's defense and
foreign ministers on the Iraq crisis, Kuwait announced
last week that its partners - Saudi Arabia, the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar and Bahrain - had
accepted its request for units to be deployed from their
joint defense force.
The Persian Gulf countries
are worried that if US-led forces attack Iraq, President
Saddam Hussein will turn on Kuwait. With tens of
thousands of US troops already in Kuwait, the country
will most likely be a launch pad for any war on Iraq.
But the Gulf force will not take part in any
attack against Iraq. The GCC leaders have made it clear
that the Peninsula Shield will be a purely defensive
mechanism. The force, which will come under the orders
of the host country, was created in 1996 after the
domestic armies proved to be ineffective during Iraq's
August 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It is headquartered at
Hafez Al Baten in northeastern Saudi Arabia.
Starting with 5,000 troops with the aim of
defending member countries in case of external
aggression, the force is in the process of achieving a
mutually agreed and more credible strength of 22,000.
However, the GCC decision to commit troops to defend
Kuwait is not without its share of advantages,
disadvantages and controversy.
Apart from
fulfilling regional solidarity obligations, the crisis
is being seen by the grouping as a training opportunity
for the joint force. Though it has conducted war
exercises in the past, Peninsula Shield has never before
been deployed in times of crisis. "With the technically
superior US-led forces carrying out the more difficult
task of attacking Iraq, the GCC forces will get the
opportunity to go through the military motions of
defending Kuwait," said Abdulkhaliq Abdalla of Emirates
University.
While the stationing of troops in
Kuwait will certainly nag Iraq now, there is the
possibility of a positive diplomatic spin-off from a
post-Saddam dispensation. Saddam dubbed the GCC regimes
"illegitimate" in 1990 and even threatened to oust them.
Assuming that Iraq will have a new leadership after the
war, it is possible that Baghdad will view the present
deployment in a friendly vein and work toward improving
bilateral ties. "That scenario will be a big plus for
the future security of the small GCC countries. In that,
it is worth taking the risk," said Abdalla, a
political-science professor.
For the ordinary
people, though, the arrangement holds very little
significance militarily. "There is no comparison between
the skills and efficiency of the GCC armies individually
or collectively and the other regional or Western
forces. The deployment appears to be more of a political
gesture," local businessman Khaled al-Loughani said.
But Inad Khairallah of the Dar Al Khaleej
Research Center said that even this small gesture - be
it political or military - holds relevance in the
nation-building process of the GCC countries. The
UAE-based political analyst said that if small countries
need to have an independent foreign policy, they must
have either a strong individual army or a grouping, as
is the case with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO).
"Oil alone cannot give them bargaining
leverage. They need to mix it up with stronger politics
at the international level, which can come only through
military might," he said. However, Khairallah added,
"Since strong armies are not a viable proposition for
small countries with very limited indigenous
populations, as is the case with the GCC, the best hope
is in developing an effective collective army."
Indeed, by allowing regional troops to perform
defense duties, some of the Gulf governments may also be
sending a message to their people that sincere efforts
are under way to rely on their own forces during times
of crisis.
In the meantime, the diplomatic war
of words has begun. Kuwait accused Iraq on Tuesday of
backing terrorist acts in the country, which has
witnessed a series of attacks on Americans in the recent
past. On the Iraqi side, the government has consistently
maintained that once a war breaks out, all US forces in
the region, including those in Kuwait, will be targeted,
thereby suggesting the possibility of another invasion.
Deploying two Kuwaiti brigades at the northern
border after the country's armed forces moved to their
second-highest state of alert has added to the tension.
The UAE and Bahrain have already sent troops and weapons
to Kuwait. While the former is sending 4,000 troops,
along with gunships, tanks, amphibious armored vehicles,
a missile boat and a frigate, Bahrain's share includes
one frigate and an unspecified number of troops.
Other Gulf countries are yet to announce their
contribution publicly. According to Abdalla, there
appears to have been some differences over the
decision-making process. "Oman and Qatar perceive the
dispatching of Peninsula Shield to Kuwait as a hasty
move. They would have liked to see the green light
coming from a summit represented by the heads of states
rather than ministers, as has been the case," he said.
The deployment is also a step forward in the
growth of the regional grouping. The UAE's Arabic
newspaper al-Ittihad has praised the stand adopted by
the Emirates armed forces "in support of friendly and
sister countries". Indeed, for those GCC countries
unwilling to directly support US war plans, Peninsula
Shield offers a perfect alibi to be on Washington's side
obliquely, and without antagonizing their own public.
(Inter Press Service)
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