Had not heard of Gulf Cooperation Council
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Cooperation_Council
Gulf Cooperation Council
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, originally known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq. Its member states are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Charter of the Gulf Cooperation Council was signed on 25 May 1981, formally establishing the institution.More at Wikipedia
ALSO:
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gulf-Cooperation-Council
“... Presidency of the council rotates annually.
Arguably the most important article of the GCC charter is Article 4, which states that the alliance was formed to strengthen relations among its member countries and to promote cooperation among the countries’ citizens. The GCC also has a defense planning council that coordinates military cooperation between member countries. The highest decision-making entity of the GCC is the Supreme Council, which meets on an annual basis and consists of GCC heads of state. Decisions of the Supreme Council are adopted by unanimous approval. The Ministerial Council, made up of foreign ministers or other government officials, meets every three months to implement the decisions of the Supreme Council and to propose new policy. The administrative arm of the alliance is the office of the Secretariat-General, which monitors policy implementation and arranges meetings. Some of the most important achievements of the GCC include the creation of the Peninsula Shield Force, a joint military venture based in Saudi Arabia, and the signing of an intelligence-sharing pact in 2004....”
AND MORE: [hmmmmmmmmm]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/gcc
“The World Bank has been a strong partner to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries for over 40 years. Governments in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have mobilized the Bank’s global knowledge and development experience through technical assistance programs.”
I think the GCC is greatly devalued under the new regime of MBS in SA and the inclusion of Israel and Egypt in the new strategic bloc.
Also, Qaatar is on the outs.
Important we remember GCC in the future. Have we made them strong with military?
Thomas wictor has been covering the GCC quite a bit for awhile. According to him, they work with the U.S. and Israel in Syria, sometimes disguised as Syrians or Iranian. He even has videos of them on YouTube. I think it was him that claims the activity blamed on Israel was actually GCC, with pictures of the roof in fact, but inside building destroyed. I can’t find the link for that now.
But now that Mohammed bin Salman is Crown Prince, de facto head of S.A, it’s really a new era in the ME.