GCC Extends Membership Invitations

Marc Lynch, writing at Foreign Policy, discusses the implications of the recent invitations to Jordan and Morocco to apply for membership at the Gulf Cooperation Council. Lynch opens by pointing out the clashes in this invitation, most notably that Jordan and Morocco are not in the gulf, and are not wealthy oil producers. What Lynch believes these countries do offer to the council is the hope of creating a stronger alliance of Sunni-Monarchies in the region to counter revolutionary forces and Iran. Highlighting the suspect choices, Lynch argues that not inviting Yemen and Iraq to countries closer to the gulf along with Egypt could have strong regional implications. In closing: “It (the proposal)  could intensify the lines of regional conflict both between revolution and counter-revolution, and between Sunni and Shi’a, while inhibiting serious efforts at reform which might ameliorate either.”