The United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council have maintained close bilateral, economic, and military relations since the GCC was founded in 1981. This is due to the United States' close relationship with the six-member states of the GCC, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Despite the U.S. not having formal membership in or representation to the GCC, the United States has chaired formal meetings with the GCC and both sides have been brought closer due to mutual hostility with Iran since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the Soviet Union over fears of spread of Communism during the Cold War. Both sides worked together in conflicts such as the Soviet–Afghan War, Iran–Iraq War, and the Gulf War.
Following the September 11 attacks, the GCC and the United States alliance grew closer as they began to cooperate further against terrorism and conduct regular direct meetings and summits. With the rise of the Arab Spring and civil wars in Arab nations, friction between member states of the GCC grew, putting the United States in the middle to resolve the issues through diplomacy seen during the Qatar diplomatic crisis from 2017 to 2021. Following the end of the crisis, relations have only grown stronger and closer in mutual opposition against Iran.
History Background
After the end of colonialism in the Middle East, particularly the French and British Empires granting independence to its former Arab colonies, the United States filled the void by exerting its influence in the region since World War II. Although the interests of the U.S., such as expanding human rights and democracy across the world, didn't align with the member states of the GCC, they have shared the same geopolitical interests since the Cold War which was to prevent the expansion of Communism by the Soviet Union and the newly installed anti-American regime in Iran following the Iranian Revolution. Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution and the first Supreme Leader of Iran, called for the overthrow of the American-backed monarchies in the Gulf amplifying the fears of the Arab regimes in the Gulf that they would meet a similar fate as Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. This added a sectarian element as they perceived the rise of a theocratic Iran after the 1979 revolution with a Shia leader would inspire Shia's in the predominantly Sunni Gulf Arab states would seek the removal of the Sunni leaders. Another culminating factor was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Since 1979, the U.S. and GCC have been involved in indirect proxy conflicts known as the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy war and the Iran–Israel proxy conflict, despite most of the GCC member states do not recognize or have formal relations with Israel due to their long standing position for the creation of an independent Palestine.
In 1981, the Gulf Cooperation Council was founded to counter these events to unite Arab nations as according to the founding charter of the Council, "Having the conviction that coordination, cooperation, and integration between them serve the sublime objectives of the Arab nation. And since then the United States and the GCC have formed a united front against Iran which continues to this very day. Since the establishment of the GCC, the United States has worked closely with the GCC members in using diplomacy to help deescalate conflicts in the region.
Soviet–Afghan War
In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, two years before the establishment of the GCC. Before the formation of the bloc, the United States was a major arm supplier through Saudi Arabia and into neighboring Pakistan to supply the Afghan mujahideen. With the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, it led to the notion that the Gulf states needed to be able to protect themselves and to be more adept in international affairs taking place and that diplomacy and negotiation was needed in a modern world. Given Afghanistan's proximity to the Gulf, a fear developed of political and military strikes on the Gulf states, and from a political standpoint, a threat because it intensified fears of the possible spread of communism to the region. One year later, Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev proposed a ban on foreign troops in the Gulf. In response, Saudi Minister of Information, Muhammad Abduh Yamani stated "the Gulf area is in no need of custodianship and that its people are capable of defending it." Omani Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah stated, "these proposals will provide the Soviet Union with the opportunity to interfere in the area’s domestic affairs." Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Saud bin Faisal Al Saud when discussing the issue of Afghanistan "confirmed the need for Gulf states to depend on themselves for the protection of their independence and resources."
Iran–Iraq War
The GCC and the U.S. cooperated in support of Saddam Hussein of Iraq against Iran during the Iran–Iraq War. The GCC member states heavily relied on the United States for arms support while maintaining relations with Iran, but opted to support Iraq.
Support for Iraq came in various ways. The United States provided Iraq several billion dollars worth of economic aid, the sale of dual-use technology, non-U.S. origin weaponry, military intelligence, and special operations training.Friedman, Alan. Spider's Web: The Secret History of How the White House Illegally Armed Iraq, Bantam Books, 1993.Timmerman, Kenneth R. The Death Lobby: How the West Armed Iraq. New York, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1991. However, no direct arms support was given. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates provided mainly financial support to Iraq. Oman, on the other hand, remained neutral as it maintained relations with both Iran and Iraq calling for diplomacy and supported UN Security Council resolutions to end the conflict. Although in 1980, one year prior to the establishment of the GCC, Oman considered allowing Iraq to use military bases in the country to attack Iran, but backed away after the U.S. objected.
During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, the U.S. continued aid for Iraq against Iran through the GCC member states such as Saudi Arabia. In 1987, the U.S. sold five Boeing E-3 Sentry planes to the Saudis included provisions for "overbuilding" Saudi air bases to accommodate increasing US military intervention. In Oman and Bahrain, both countries accelerated military construction as the U.S. encouraged Saudi Arabia to push for an integrated air defense network for the Gulf Cooperation Council. Following the U.S. sinking of the Iranian naval vessel Iran Ajr on September 21, 1987, for laying naval mines in the Persian Gulf to target U.S.-flagged oil tankers, the U.S. pursued efforts with the GCC to protect U.S.-flagged ships in the Gulf.
Gulf War After the end of the Iran–Iraq War, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia owned much of Iraq's debt. Saudi Arabia loaned somewhere between $20 to $26 billion while Kuwait had loaned $14 billion. Saddam Hussein begged both countries to forgive the debt, but they refused. In response to their refusal, Iraq invaded and annexed Kuwait prompting the launch of the Gulf War. Once again, the GCC relied on the United States for support to liberate Kuwait and restore order in the region. The bloc during the 1990 GCC summit issued the Doha Declaration in which the leaders recognized the ineffectiveness of the GCC defense and security arrangements and their failure either to deter the Iraqi aggression or to protect Kuwait.
The Gulf War began on January 17, 1991, until February 28, which resulted in a resounding defeat for Saddam Hussein. One hundred hours after the ground campaign started, on 28 February, President George H. W. Bush declared a ceasefire, and he also declared that Kuwait had been liberated.
9/11 and War on Terror
Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the U.S. and GCC pledged to cooperate in combating terrorism and were very supportive of U.S. initiatives. However, the attacks poisoned relations between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. due to the fact that fifteen of the Al-Qaeda hijackers were Saudi Arabian and the leader of the organization was Osama bin Laden, who was born in Saudi Arabia. And long-standing accusations of Saudi involvement. Another two out of the total nineteen were from the United Arab Emirates.
On November 11, one month after the attack, Secretary of State Colin Powell held a meeting with the GCC foreign ministers during the Fifty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly where the ministers pledged to support the U.S in fighting Al-Qaeda. This was the first such meeting between the U.S. and the GCC. Among the key topics of discussion was the U.S. detailing a vision of a Palestinian state in accordance with the United Nations, where the GCC pressed for greater U.S. involvement in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, requesting more than just broad statements, hoping for direct talks and a meeting between George W. Bush and Yasser Arafat.
In the aftermath of 9/11, the Bush administration pursued a global initiative to oust Saddam Hussein by military intervention claiming that Hussein had an active nuclear weapons program and ties to Al-Qaeda. None of which were proven true. During a meeting between Powell and foreign ministers of the GCC in September 2002 during the Fifty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, all the GCC member states rejected any military intervention against Iraq. Despite this, in March 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq starting the Iraq War.
On September 23, 2004, during the Fifty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly, Powell met with the foreign ministers of the GCC, the first in two years and the first since the Iraq War, focusing on combating terrorism, stabilizing Iraq, and advancing freedom in the Middle East.
After Condoleezza Rice became Secretary of State replacing Colin Powell in 2005, she met with the GCC foreign ministers on September 19 during the Sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly. The following year, she attended the GCC Summit of foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi on February 23, 2006. The first such meeting to take place outside the U.S. On September 20, during the Sixty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, Rice met with the foreign ministers of the GCC. While speaking about regional issues, formal membership of the United States in the GCC was discussed but no agreement was reached. Issues with membership included the creation of a permanent GCC representation and whether it would be in New York City or Washington, D.C.
On January 16, 2007, Kuwait hosted a meeting of the GCC, Egypt, Jordan, and the U.S. between the foreign ministers in Kuwait City. Key subjects of discussion included supporting the development of the Palestinian economy, pledging political and financial support to Lebanon condemning the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2004 and the assassination of Pierre Amine Gemayel two months earlier in November 2006, and preventing the spread of sectarian warfare from Iraq as the Arab nations pledged support for the troop surge. The participants also resolved to counter the pursuit of nuclear weapons technology in contravention of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.