Manama: A Kuwaiti professor has called for integrating the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states into one country with Madinah in Saudi Arabia as its capital.
"The GCC countries have problems ensuring the minimum of their national security and the best option for them is to unite into one state and select Madinah as its capital," Abdullah Al Nafisi, 65, said.
"That way, we will have a strong state that can face up to challenges from other countries," he said at a gathering in Kuwait City.
The controversial Salafi professor said that the main issue was not the stability of the Gulf countries, but in their survival and urged the GCC countries to look beyond local issues in an attempt to understand and appreciate the wider strategic context.
"The Gulf countries should put an end to their sterile debate over local and regional issues based on trivial matters. They should be more engaged in the global strategy and better aware of the regional and international conflict," he said.
"Whoever reads our local press becomes depressed because it focuses on local affairs through the personalization of the debate. The media disregards the strategic dimension of the issues. Plans to occupy the oil fields of the Gulf are ready and we should understand that we can achieve the minimum of our national security only within the context of a genuine union of the GCC states," he said, quoted by Al Anba daily.
Kuwaitis in particular should build on past events to prepare for a future where they will not have to face threats or see their oil fields be used as military targets.
Past experiences with larger neighbouring countries such as Iraq and Iran have been negative for Kuwait, the scholar said.
"The situation in Kuwait is very dangerous and we suffer from an isolation and siege mentality resulting from our location at the heart of a triangle made up of Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia. Of these three countries, we should trust only Saudi Arabia because of our common heritage and history," he said.
