Presumptions of friendship and guarantees in international relations are never secure and rarely lasting.  Even when they are given the stamp of firm endurance, a closer look will find greater benefits accruing to one party over the other.  When one needs to persuade a weaker power into surrendering real estate and valuable terrain for the more powerful counterpart to use, always employ the terminology of “joint-facility”, “joint-operations” or some such.  That will go a long way into validating the mendacity of an arrangement.

The Gulf Arab states are the latest to learn this lesson from the United States, whose guardianship credentials have been looking particularly shabby of late. 

Having not sought the conflict with Iran that the US, in collusion with Israel, started at the end of February, they now face the prospect of a diminished American presence once hostilities with Tehran end.  

Having not sought the conflict with Iran that the US, in collusion with Israel, started at the end of February, they now face the prospect of a diminished American presence once hostilities with Tehran end.  

For decades, the Gulf Cooperation Council states sought to create a defence order based on gluttonous arms purchases and extensive offerings to US military personnel in terms of bases and facilities, the assumption being that this would guarantee them against attack.  While the presumptive attacker in that case was Iran, the GCC states did not spare diplomacy in attempting to mollify Tehran, adopting a conscious policy of distancing from US-Israeli policy.  The presence of US forces, in offering that insurance of security, also encouraged those in the Gulf region to advertise grandly as........

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