US approves arms sales to GCC as a bloc, after rulers agree on unified military command

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) announcements on defence co-operation are usually met with considerable scepticism. Not without good reason, for in more than 30 years of talk, there has been only limited progress towards a collective defence force capable of deterring external threats. But the 11 December announcement that GCC rulers had agreed to set up a unified military command, and assigned the Joint Defence Council to take the necessary measures for implementation (GSN 960/6), may prove different.