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Coverage of the Events since October 2000
Hände weg von Israel und Islam!
GCC Leaders To Disband Peninsula Shield
2006-01-02
www.defensenews.com
The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) decision to send Peninsula Shield units back to their home countries will likely put an end to the 20-year-old joint standing military force, the only one in the oil-rich Gulf states, according to regional analysts and officials.
"The GCC decision to reform the Peninsula Shield is nothing more than the first step towards the gradual dismantling of this force," said Sami Faraj, director of the Kuwait Center for Strategic Studies.
During the Dec. 18-19 GCC summit in Abu Dhabi, Saudi officials asked representatives from the other five council members - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - to withdraw their Peninsula Shield troops from bases in the Hafr Al-Baten area of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Crown Prince and Defense Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz said Dec. 25.
