Persian Gulf states are launching a joint military command, based in Saudi Arabia, to counter threats from the Iranian regime and extremist groups, Bahrain’s foreign minister says.
Sheikh Khalid al-Khalifa told the Financial Times that the joint command force, which analysts say will eventually have several hundred thousand soldiers under its control, will begin military operations after a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, due to take place later this month in Qatar.
The new command will co-ordinate with the GCC’s naval command based in Bahrain and its air command in Saudi Arabia, he said.
“Look at the fragmentation in Iraq and the abominable situation in Syria,” Sheikh Khalid told the Financial Times in an interview.
“If Afghanistan was a primary school for terrorists, then Syria and Iraq are a university for them – these are serious threats and lots of people from our country have gone and joined them.”
Dr. Theodore Karasik, Senior Advisor to Risk Insurance Management in Dubai, said the GCC is trying to establish a “robust, interoperable joint operations force” focusing on defensive operations.
“The force is to be several hundred thousand strong with Saudi Arabia contributing at least 100,000 personnel,” he said. Components of the joint force may be used in special offensive operations against “nimble extremist forces”, he added.
Sheikh Khalid, a member of the Bahraini royal family, said the new military body, first mooted two years ago, would start “working from now” to co-ordinate against what he said was a growing threat from Iran and unrest in Yemen.
