Agreement on GCC unified command driven by US

US pressure for greater military cohesion – in return for help setting up a co-ordinated missile defence system – appears to be one of the drivers behind the GCC’s announcement of a combined military command. But Gulf rulers will want to avoid a multilateral force becoming a vehicle for Saudi Arabia’s regional ambitions. Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) announcements on defence co-operation are usually met with considerable scepticism. Not without good reason, for in more than 30 years of talk, there has been only limited progress towards a collective defence force capable of deterring external threats.