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GCC leaders 'to discuss Bahrain-Saudi union'

Arabian Knight

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(AFP)
DUBAI — Gulf leaders will discuss a proposal for a closer political union among them that could begin with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, the Bahraini information minister said on Saturday.

"The idea of a Gulf union will be on the agenda of the summit in Riyadh" on Monday, said Samira Rajab.
"This union could start with two or three" members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, she told AFP, adding that the proposal for a Gulf union put forward by Saudi King Abdullah was "backed by Bahrain."

Unlike most other Gulf countries ruled by Sunni dynasties, Bahrain was hit last year by a wave of protests inspired by the Arab Spring and led by its Shiite majority.

The tiny neighbour of the Gulf heavyweight continues to see frequent confrontations between police and protesters despite a brutal crackdown on mass protests in mid-March last year, a day after Saudi forces rolled into Bahrain to help quell the uprising.

On Friday, a top Gulf official who requested not to be named also said Gulf leaders will "discuss the idea of a union between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain."

The GCC, which was formed in 1981, also includes Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE.
Rajab declined to elaborate on the nature of the proposed union, saying only that it could follow the "European Union model."

"In Bahrain, we support setting up a Gulf union to protect us from the threats facing the region on the political, economic, security and military fronts," she said.

King Abdullah told his fellow Gulf leaders in December that the GCC should move from the "phase of cooperation to a phase of union within a single entity."

A joint committee comprising three representatives of each member state is tasked with thinking the proposal through and should present its findings to Monday's summit.

AFP: Gulf leaders 'to discuss Bahrain-Saudi union'

I hope this is the first step for a complete GCC union.
 
These discussions have been ongoing for very long. So long as there is one dictator who wants to grab all power and there is another dictator who also wants to do the same, these countries will never unite. That is why Egypt's union with Syria broke apart, that's why Libya's union with Egypt could never be achieved, that's why North African countries can not unite. The question in the minds of these countries' rulers is: Who will rule?

All of them want to be the undisputed ruler, so no effective union is achieved, and their people suffer, their people miss great opportunities to achieve what they could have achieved under a complete union.
 
I think this is back in vogue as an attempt to dilute the actions of protesters of Bahrain
 
A EU like model is good for GCC and would be good for the entire islamic world if it can be implemented.

Well, Bahrain regime was already on the verge of falling had Saudi arabia not intervened. So, the "union" has already occurred in the crude sense.
 
They should reject the EU model with all its failures. Why can't they think up a plan of their own? In fact, there have been provided the perfect code for governing these countries many centuries ago, so the people in these countries should already know very well what form of governance is good for them.

I am just perplexed by how the masses in these countries tolerate these 'rulers' for so long.
 
I smell Saudi Arabia aspiration for Colonialism , the same tactic that Britain used 2-3 century ago .
 
I smell Saudi Arabia aspiration for Colonialism , the same tactic that Britain used 2-3 century ago .

Is it considered "Colonialism" if it's between the same people (Arabs) - not that this resembles any form of colonialism-? we have some very deep tribal ties with Bahrain, Qatar and other GCC countries. All the GCC people are basically blood related one way or the other. So I don't see a problem, but I can understand how Iranians may perceive this move. Already, the Iranian Arabic propaganda machine is calling this move a "reinforcement of the saudi occupation of Bahrain".
 
The GCC will be a confederacy. They will share a common currency and armed forces but each nation will handle their own internal affairs. The economical potential of this is crazy. Saudi Arabian,Kuwaiti,Oman,UAE,Qatari oil and natural gas will make them much more richer and with more wealth the stronger their militaries will be. We must see more Peninsula shield exercises and more operation. If they unite militarily Iran will have a hard time.
 

I doubt they are asking to be a protectorate of a family who put their own name on a country .
Is it considered "Colonialism" if it's between the same people (Arabs) - not that this resembles any form of colonialism-? we have some very deep tribal ties with Bahrain, Qatar and other GCC countries. All the GCC people are basically blood related one way or the other. So I don't see a problem, but I can understand how Iranians may perceive this move. Already, the Iranian Arabic propaganda machine is calling this move a "reinforcement of the saudi occupation of Bahrain".

its colonialism ,and blood ties has nothing to do with it ,Ireland . USA and India had one thing in common , guess what

by the way if you are so sure at those ties why not put it at a referendum and let the people of Bahrain decide about it
 
These discussions have been ongoing for very long. So long as there is one dictator who wants to grab all power and there is another dictator who also wants to do the same, these countries will never unite. That is why Egypt's union with Syria broke apart, that's why Libya's union with Egypt could never be achieved, that's why North African countries can not unite. The question in the minds of these countries' rulers is: Who will rule?

All of them want to be the undisputed ruler, so no effective union is achieved, and their people suffer, their people miss great opportunities to achieve what they could have achieved under a complete union.
egyptian union with syria and libya was a mistake i think that egypt sudan union can work we have the same enemy we have been one nation for most of the time in our history
 

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