EDITORIAL : THE KHALEEJ TIMES, UAE

GCC’s widening ambit

The Gulf Cooperation Council is all set to extend membership to Jordan and Morocco.

With the inclusion of the strategic states from eastern Arabia and North Africa, the GCC’s regional ambit is expected to widen from the Arabian Peninsula to the MENA region. This is a significant moment for the regional bloc that will turn thirty, end May. The six-member council that comprised the Gulf States of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain has come a long way from when it first started 
in 1981.
The GCC Secretary General Abdullatif Al Zayani addressing the recently held Consultative Summit in Riyadh welcomed the request of both the Jordan and Moroccan monarchies to join the Cooperation. 

With the political dynamics in a tumultuous state the region is extremely vulnerable to instability. This does pose a critical challenge since the region boasts the world’s largest oil reserves and borders  strategic shipping lines. Not only is the security of these natural resources critical for the regional states it is the world economy that is dependent on it, thus requiring concentrated efforts to ensure security and stability. 
The ongoing unrest in Yemen Libya and Syria are of great concern in the region. The GCC’s political role as a responsible and stabilising organisation has come to the forefront even more prominently in recent months. The decision to send security forces to quell the unrest in Bahrain and its mediation efforts to resolve the deadlock and mounting instability in Yemen are apt examples. In fact, it is the GCC transition plan for Yemen that is under consideration by in Sanaa and the Yemeni opposition groups. The best suited plan to put an immediate end to the protests and consequent violence it offered Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh a way out along with the formation of a comprehensive national government comprising all political factions. Unfortunately the deal is yet to be signed by the government in Yemen.

Besides, the Council has also been deliberating on the creation of a $20 billion development plan to help Bahrain and Oman overcome economic obstacles impeding the development plans in the two states.

There is no doubt that the GCC’s political stature is likely to grow with the inclusion of the new members. Similarly, it’s organisational strength in terms of economic and political weightage and security commitment will also be bolstered by the new member states.

America’s immigration riddle

Addressing the United States immigration conundrum has always been tricky. President Barack Obama who is riding high once again in his popularity thought it appropriate to chip into the lacunas of a system that has kept Americans on the edges.

Illegal immigrants that account for more than 11 million in the United States has been a serious political-cum-social issue, and at times had impacted its security constraints. Perhaps, this is why the president called upon the Congress to reject the usual ‘Washington games’ and enact a comprehensive overhaul. While the influx and settlement of men in the shadows is not restricted or related to any specific part of the US, it warrants a holistic approach from the federal authorities. This is why unilateral efforts from Arizona, Utah and Georgia to check the illegal immigrants’ phenomenon are not considered appropriate enough.

What America needs at the moment is to work on a two-pronged strategy of legalising the existing flock of people around without valid documents, and to enforce stringent measures to check such an influx in future. The main challenge comes in the form of manning porous borders on its south, and taking care of people who widely so scot-free on the assumptions of skin and ethnicity. As pointed out by Obama himself, the moment private and public sector start discouraging illegal employment, the saturation point will set in. The erstwhile policy to net such invalid people and prosecute them accordingly hasn’t worked. A policy to engage them by voluntarily soliciting their resurfacing is the best way out. It has worked in several other developed countries, and could surely work in the US, especially talking into account the change of dynamics 
in the geopolitical and policy orientation realms.

The nation of immigrants’ while chartering a new path should also keep in mind its cherished values of liberalism, equity of justice and secularism. America under Obama has been treading a cautious path in an endeavour to not only extend and retain its reach to the outside world, but also to do away with the stereotypes with which Washington had been suffering while dealing with the rest of the world, especially with many of the Muslim countries. In attaining that objective it cannot simply shut its doors at home. Rather than slipping into isolation or projecting a xenophobic attitude, the US can do well by embracing adversity. That has always been America’s strength.