The Gulf Arab States Need a Shield Built for Limited Trust

AI Summary

The Gulf Arab states face challenges in regional defense coordination amid missile, drone, and maritime threats. Despite established defense institutions and diplomatic forums, the Gulf Cooperation Council's ability to respond rapidly during crises remains untested, underscoring the need for a shield based on limited trust.

Missiles, drones, and maritime disruptions do not stop at national borders. Gulf defense architecture still too often waits for national permission to act. The Gulf Cooperation Council has spent decades building defense institutions, diplomatic forums, and a language of indivisible Gulf security. Recent crises in the Red Sea, the Strait of Hormuz, and the airspace above the Gulf have exposed a harder test: whether those institutions can move at crisis speed when a missile salvo, drone attack, or maritime disruption gives the region minutes or hours, not days, to respond.The Gulf has no shortage of capability. The region has advanced The post The Gulf Arab States Need a Shield Built for Limited Trust appeared first on War on the Rocks.