Dubai: Egypt and three of its Gulf allies are considering plans to set up a joint military force to intervene around the Middle East, a Saudi source has told the Associated Press (AP).
The four countries are discussing the creation of a military pact to take on Islamist militants, with the possibility of a joint force to intervene around the Middle East.
The AP cited a senior Egyptian military official as saying that Libya and Yemen may be theatres for the force to act, adding that the alliance would also serve as a show of force to regional rival and heavyweight, Iran.
Three Egyptian military officials discussed details of the talks to the AP and a fourth confirmed their comments.
A Gulf official, who is aware of the discussions, also said that the governments were coordinating on how to deal with Libya, and the talks were “ongoing on wider cooperation on how to deal with extremists in the region.”
The alliance would, however, look for international cover for its operations, the report added.
Talks on an alliance against extremists are well advanced, the Egyptian officials said. But the further idea of forming a joint force is more distant, and there are differences among the countries over the size of any force, funding and headquarters, and over whether to seek Arab League or UN political cover for operations, one of the Egyptian officials told the AP.
Even if no joint force is agreed on, the alliance would coordinate military action, aiming at quick, pinpoint operations against militants rather than longer missions, the officials said.
In Washington, asked if the US was aware of the discussions, Pentagon press secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby said, “We’re not privy to that. I wouldn’t speak of it.”
The spokesman for Egypt’s presidency, Alaa Yousuf, denied that creating a joint rapid deployment force, complete with a headquarters, was part of the “routine” discussions between Egypt and its Arab allies on a strategy to combat extremism.
The Egyptian military officials said top generals from the countries — including at times, their chiefs of staff — have held multiple rounds of talks. Two of the Egyptian military officials said they had participated in the discussions, while the other two said they had been briefed on them.
Under consideration, they said, is the establishment of a core force made up of elite troops with aircraft and access to a pool of intelligence gathered by members of the alliance.
To prepare for such a force, bilateral and multilateral war games have been held over the past year among the countries to promote harmony among their troops and weapons systems, the Egyptian officials said. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in particular, have elite counter-terrorism units, and the Gulf countries have sophisticated air forces, largely purchased from the United States.
The officials said Jordan and Algeria had also been approached to join.
“It will only be announced when it is ready to go and we have an agreement on everything,” said the most senior of the Egyptian officials.
The countries involved intend to get a “nod” of approval from the United States, the officials said.
The alliance would also be on hand to protect the Gulf from any incursions by Daesh, the officials said. Its existence would also be a symbolic show of unity against Iranian influence.
