The consequences of 11th of September events on gulf cooperation council: rebuilding balances in the region

Abstract

What happened in the 11th of September 2001 and it'sdestruction for the symbols of American poweris considered a historical turning point. It raised a lot of questions and led to several changes in many regions of the world, and the Gulf region was one of the most affected regionsby the consequences of these events. The seriousness of what happened was increased with the U.S. occupation of Iraq which is very influential in the balance of the region. Now, The Arab Gulf region goes through a period of legitimate concern, seeking new frameworks to ensure its security and stability. After the Arab region has witnessed those public movements and large-scale changes during the last two years, which led to change the Arab regimes that seemed to be stable in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the Gulf region states were not immune to change. The Arab Gulf states depended in the past three decades on strategic balances in which the United States of America played the leading role, while other countries, such as Britain and France, have contributed though less influentially. These strategies started with raising the American flag on Kuwaiti ships during the Iranian-Iraqi war in the eighties of the last century, through war of Kuwait in 1991, tillthe occupation of Iraq in 2003. Therefore some Arab gulf states find themselves in front of new challenges and obligations to change their strategies.