around the Persian Gulf that was formed 30 years ago as protection against Iran and Iraq, has invited Jordan and Morocco to join.
The invitation effectively converts the organization from a Persian Gulf grouping into a monarchial grouping as the six Persian Gulf Arab states plus Jordan and Morocco comprise all the countries with monarchies in the Arab world.
The rationale for the proposed GCC expansion eluded most analysts. Some saw it as an anti-Iran move, given that Morocco last year broke relations with Iran in anger over alleged Iranian efforts to promote Shiism in Morocco. But many other Arab regimes are firmly anti-Shia.
Jordan is not of those, however. But Jordan has an army that is widely considered the best in the Arab world on a man-for-man basis. Some thought the Persian Gulf Arabs might be interested in luring some of those military skills to the Persian Gulf. Jordan, a poor country, could benefit economically from an alliance with oil-rich states.
But Ali Anouzia, editor of the Moroccan newsite lakome.com, said, “This looks like an alliance that will be against both geography and strategic common sense.”
