Columbia International Affairs Online: Working Papers

CIAO DATE: 11/2014

United States-Gulf Cooperation Council Security Coopeeration in a Multipolar World

Mohammed El-Katiri

October 2014

The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College

Abstract

Military and security cooperation with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states is of continuing importance for the United States, given the region's pivotal location in the Middle East and proximity to Iran. But recent developments in the defense posture of the United States, together with the U.S. responses to the Arab Spring, and the lingering after-effects of the Iraq conflict, have caused local leaders to question the nature and durability of this cooperation. This monograph examines recent developments in the political and economic dynamics in GCC countries and their neighbors, and the potential implications for U.S. security interests in the region.