Gulf Countries Should Join Forces For Missile Defense

The U.S. is “gently prompting” the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to integrate their air- and missile-defense systems, according to American strategic defense consultant Ian Brzezinski.

Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have all bought Raytheon’s Patriot system; Qatar and the UAE are buying Lockheed Martin’s Terminal High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system. These can all potentially defend against, for example, missiles launched from Iran. But the GCC countries “can’t achieve regional coverage without multilateral cooperation,” Brzezinski told AIN.