Former official in the White House and expert on the Middle East, Charles Dunnstated today (Thursday) that “the US has been trying for two decades to build an integrated defense alliance in the Gulf, but it has failed time and time again due to the differences in the worldview of the partnership in the Gulf”, as reported by the “Al Jazeera” network. During his speech, He referred to the announcement of the National Security Council and emphasized that “Washington is working to build an integrated infrastructure for air and naval defense in the Middle East.”
Dunn added that “the idea for the plan comes up again at a time of escalating tensions, when Iran is again accused of destabilizing by launching attacks on ships in the Gulf waters.” This, after an Israeli official stated that Iran was behind the attack on the oil tanker off the coast of Oman.
In the meantime, the commander of the US Army’s Central Command, Eric Corellaannounced that “a task force led by Washington will deploy over a hundred ships and drones in the strategic waters of the Gulf region by next year, in order to repel the threats.” In an interview with the “Al Jazeera” network, he said David Mack, former Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs, because “this is a step that Washington has been looking for for decades.” The Gulf countries prefer bilateral cooperation with the US, rather than giving up part of their sovereignty through cooperation with their neighbors.”
Sources familiar with the details said that the goal of building a collective defense alliance in the Gulf, overseen by Washington, is a major challenge for the US, especially when the Gulf continues to play a central role in the global energy system. In light of the progress of the Biden administration, in the ongoing competition with China, and to some extent with Russia , the White House wants to convince the partners in the Gulf that the US, and not China or Russia, should be turned to for protection against external threats, including Iran.
They also said that currently, the US forms the backbone of the air defense alliance. Washington also supplies all the warning and surveillance systems based on satellites to many of its allies in the region. David de Rochea former Pentagon official, said that “the US partners have been attacked many times by Iranian missiles and drones from the Islamic Republic, some of which were launched by Tehran itself, and others by its agents in the region, such as the Houthis in Yemen.”
However, de Roche concluded that “the effort to build the alliance has been going on for a long time, but has failed because the countries in the region do not trust each other.” According to him, “Each one prefers to receive the defense capabilities separately and independently.”