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Command and control systems are the first priority as G.C.C. countries begin to develop a more integrated common approach to defence. GSN interviewed senior officials about trends.
Three people were killed when Saudi special forces freed more than 100 passengers from a Russian airliner hijacked to Medina airport, as GSN went to press. The 16 March rescue was a success for the security services, but the episode underlined some of the problems that confront the Saudi authorities in their stewardship of the land that houses Islam’s holiest places.
The pace of Bahrain’s political liberalisation has surprised even the sceptics, and showed the extent to which conservative Gulf monarchies can remake their social compacts with their populations if the will is there.
Osama Bin Laden is the central target of a new anti-terrorist initiative being prepared by the U.S.. Tackling the roots of violence will be left for late.
Iraq is imposing a 10 percent “after sale” surcharge on companies supplying goods under the U.N.- approved oil-for-food programme, GSN reveals. This generates extra funds for a government also asking
I.R.N.A., Iran’s national news agency, notable for its comprehensive political coverage, has been allowed to open a bureau in Riyadh, an indication of the deepening relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Under a new press law, the kingdom will also permit the local printing of foreign
When nominees for George W. Bush’s new cabinet present themselves for confirmation on Capitol Hill, none is assured of an easier ride than General Colin Powell, the former Gulf War Chief-of-Staff who is to become Secretary of State in the new U.S. administration.The Republican conservative ideologues picked for some sensitive domestic portfolios under the Bush II regime are likely to face tough questions from a Senate where Democrat gains in November’s election have brought the two parties to 50:50 parity (although the casting vote will lie with Bush’s deputy Dick Cheney). But for Powell, who is widely perceived as “an authentic American hero” and a symbol of black success in public life, the confirmation process is a foregone conclusion.
Across The Region, News, Data & Analysis: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen
Investigators are working overtime in Yemen to find those responsible for the USS Cole bombing, while the Taliban in Afghanistan are expecting a U.S. cruise missile any day. GSN examines Yemen’s Islamists, the “Bin Laden connection” and President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s delicate balancing act.
It will probably not be until early 2002 that the committee appointed by Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani to prepare a draft constitution finally produces its report. But certain principles are clear already. There will be an elected national assembly to replace the long-standing appointed Majlis Al-Shura, and Qatari women will have the vote and the right to stand for elected office — a principle already established with the present elected municipal councils.
The Arab-Israeli conflict has again impacted on domestic Gulf politics, even if incidents including the U.S.S. Cole bombing and the hijacking of a Saudia airliner were not directly linked to the Middle East crisis. Demonstrations at the actions of Israeli security forces have set nerves