Gulf States considering intelligence co-ordination
Although no reference is made to Osama Bin Laden’s latest message, Gulf States share concern over events in Iraq and the danger of spill over into neighbouring countries. Worries are not limited to what is happening in Baghdad. Head of Kuwaiti intelligence warns that not all regional states are friendly towards Gulf States peoples.

Kuwait City (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The heads of security and intelligence agencies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states met yesterday for a two-day summit in Kuwait City to co-ordinate against the risks of fallout from regional events, especially in Iraq.

The head of Saudi Public Intelligence, Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, who chaired the meeting, called for adopting practical measures as soon as possible to prevent the risks of turmoil in Iraq from spreading to its neighbours.

The Kuwait Times did not report whether anything was said about Osama Bin Laden’s latest audio message in which the al-Qaeda leader speaks about unspecified “errors” made in Iraq and makes an appeal for unity to fighters. In it Bin Laden insists that the “interest of the Islamic nation surpasses that of a group,” and that the “strength of faith is in the strength of the bond between Muslims and not that of a tribe or [. . .] nationalism.”

The head of Kuwait's National Security Agency, Sheikh Ahmad Fahd Al-Sabah, warned that the regional situation was very delicate and called for carefully assessing it.

“No one disputes the fact that the current phase is highly delicate and that events in the small (Gulf) and big (Middle East) regions present major challenges to us,” he said.

“There are many scenarios that we need to carefully study and assess and work out the best solution for each of these scenarios,” he added.

GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Attiya underscored the significance of the meeting and warned that people in the Gulf should not think that all neighbours are friendly to them.