Al-Rai, Kuwait, October 23
With the 39th annual Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit scheduled to take place in Kuwait City next month, sources have revealed that Kuwait is trying to postpone the meet by six weeks in order to resolve the current crisis with Qatar. The hope is that a reconciliation deal could be reached within that time frame, allowing Doha to participate in the conference with its neighbors. Saudi officials, meanwhile, reiterated their commitment to holding the event as scheduled, suggesting even that it would be hosted in Riyadh if Kuwait refuses to abide by the schedule. Either way, one must acknowledge that the GCC is alive and well. All GCC member states—The United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Kuwait—agree that Qatar must mend its ways before it can be allowed back into the organization. And the upcoming summit is a prime opportunity for moderate Gulf leaders to remind citizens of the Council’s founding principle; namely, the belief in mutual cooperation and support for its members. The Qatari government, along with its media outlet Al-Jazeera, has been spreading its toxic agenda, with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad al-Thani, the Emir of Qatar, having repeatedly refused to listen to what those around him have advised: stop with the terror and reunite with your neighbors. The conference will therefore be used as a platform to remind the Qatari government and its people of what must be done to restore normal ties with the GCC—to terminate ties with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, limit Al-Jazeera’s hostile coverage, extradite convicted terrorists to their countries of origin and reaffirm a commitment to the sovereignty of regional states. Without accepting these basic demands, Qatar and its people will remain ostracized and the GCC will continue to function with, or without, them. Over the next few weeks, however, Doha might be urged to reexamine its ways. – Sawsan al-Shaar