Doaa El-Bey and Gamal Nkrumah cover the climatic approach of Egypt's presidential elections and the new Saudi-Bahrain axis Did Iran bite off the Gulf countries more than it could chew? This week's 14th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) consultative summit in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh hit the headlines. Topping the agenda was the GCC's pledge to consummate a union as opposed to the current cooperation council. A final communiqué did not reveal the real nature of the union -- is it a federation, a confederation or a still looser form of union? This could be a longer-lasting legacy than any designs Iran has on GCC territory. The issue of Iran's occupation of three tiny islands claimed by the United Arab Emirates -- Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Moussa was tackled by a candid Saudi academic Khaled Al-Dakhil. In an op-ed in the London-based pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat entitled 'The Gulf is no longer Persian' Al-Dakhil notes that the days when Iran was the undisputed regional power are long over. "From the logic of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yes, once upon a time, there was no power in the Gulf to challenge Iran�ê� Persia was the hegemonic civilisation in the region, but that was eons ago�ê� Now everything has changed. We stand on the edge of a new historical epoch. Iran is no longer the only power in the Gulf. Indeed, Iran today represents a geographical and political midget. If we consider the Arab tribes that live along the southern coasts of Iran it would be clear to us that Iran, or rather Persians, have become a minority in a demographic sense, too," Al-Dakhil notes. "Why then do we still insist on called the stretch of water by its ancient Persian designation? Why not call it by today's realities -- the Arab Gulf," Al-Dakhil asks rhetorically. The legal tussle internationally between the United Arab Emirates and Iran and the designs of Iran on Bahrain which historically used to be part of Persia sours relations between Iran and its GCC neighbours, and exacerbates Shia Muslim and Sunni Muslim rivalries. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal plays his cards close to his chest. The Saudi prince likes to spring surprises. And, several papers in the GCC countries applauded the announcement that Saudi Arabia and Bahrain might be contemplating a full union. "Sovereignty will remain with each of the countries and they would remain as UN members but they would unite decisions regarding foreign relations, security, military and the economy," Bahrain's Minister of State for Information Samira Rajab was quoted as saying in Akhbar Al-Khaleej. Prince Saud, like the other GCC leaders, play on the deeply held belief among Gulf Arab predominantly Sunni Muslim political establishments that sinister Shia Muslims in Iran, in particular, are out to get them. The Iranians, of course, believe that this union should not be welcomed. "After 30 years of the establishment of the GCC, [Saudi] King Abdullah has put forward the notion of union. He realised that the people of the GCC countries instead of just being satisfied with cooperation are yearning for union. Are we going to wait another 30 years more for unity? Are we content with cooperation for another 30 years? The king proposed union precisely because he has his hand on the pulse of the Gulf and the aspirations of its people," wrote Hashim Abdu Hashim in the Saudi daily Okaz. Not surprisingly, the Shia Muslim majority population of Bahrain contemplates with disdain at the proposed union. "It is the right of our people in Bahrain to resist the proposed union with Saudi Arabia by all means necessary," Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary-general of the Association of National Islamic Harmony was quoted as saying in the London- based Voice of Bahrain, the mouthpiece of the Shia-dominated Bahrain Freedom Movement. It is clear that the writer's loyalties lie with Iran, rather than with Saudi Arabia. In an article entitled 'Who are you to agree or reject the union with Saudi Arabia?' Hisham Al-Zayani, writing in his column Black and White in the Bahrain newspaper Al-Watan, rhetorically ridicules those antagonistic to the idea of union between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. "It may be the best and most beautiful news that the people of the GCC nations were waiting for. But for the Arab citizens of Bahrain the breaking news of a union with Saudi Arabia will become the most exquisite news to emerge from our leaders' mouths in the past decade." In much the same vein, in the London-based pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat and in an article entitled "United Gulf" Saudi commentator Masjary Al-Thaidi stressed that the "union does not mean the annulling of the relative advantages of the individual Gulf states, or the reduction of their sovereignty. But rather it means the creation of a common front to confront the common enemies that face them and the dangers ahead of them." Those who want a democratic transformation in the six-nation GCC countries complete with constitutional changes that give women more rights would be disappointed. Citizenship rights have emerged as a most contentious issue in Gulf papers. The issue began to crop up in several papers in the region. Others picked up the pertinent issue of citizenship rights in the wider Arab press. An article by Saudi commentator Mohamed Al-Rumeihi entitled 'Gulf hallucinations' he recounted the reasons why the GCC states did not participate fully in the full flowering of the Arab Spring. In another op-ed entitled 'The democracy discourse and the Arab Spring' by Abdullah Al-Oteibi the Saudi commentator dwells at length on the same theme. The Algerian newspaper Al-Nasr asked whether the Islamists had lost their place in the Algerian political scene. The poor showing of the Islamists in the Algerian legislative election was the subject of much debate in the Algerian press. Algerian papers of various political affiliations such as Al-Umma, Al-Watan and Al-Ahdath focussed on the election, but also on the pedophilia and pornography scandal of Jean-Michel Baroche, a French national. "The abominations of Jean-Michel Baroche turned into that most discussed topic in the Algerian papers and the talk of the Algerian street". Selim Boufandasa, writing in Al-Nasr warned against the "culture of silence and secrecy" gripping Algeria. "Perhaps, the culture of silence and secrecy could be explained by the predominant oral culture of Algerian society. But this is no excuse for the publishing houses, the social researchers and even the media workers whose very profession impresses upon them and inculcates in them to investigate and compel the witnesses to speak out especially in this historical juncture in which the French whip has once again had the audacity to admonish Algeria," Boufandasa observes. "The passing of a personality of Ahmed Ben Bella from the political arena in Algeria expresses the different spheres and phases of modern Algerian history."
