We totally reject seeing Bahrain turn into another Lebanon, and will resist this. We are ready to enter war with Iran, and even Iraq, in defense of Bahrain. The above comments are not mine; I heard them from the foreign minister of a Gulf Cooperation Council state in a private session, which lasted more than two hours. The minister gave me the option to choose between quoting him, with him speaking cautiously and diplomatically, and not reflecting the reality of the situation, or anonymously, with him speaking frankly and giving readers and me another picture of the situation, or the unvarnished truth. I preferred the second option. He told me that Bahrain was a red line. Everyone is united, and we are ready to go to war to defend ourselves. If the Iraqi government tries to intervene in Bahrain in the interest of the Shiites or Iran, Iraq will be divided. The minister was angry at Iranian threats to all countries of the Gulf, some of which are overt and known, while others have taken place through diplomatic channels. There have been spy networks and sabotage in each state, and incitement to sectarian strife where possible, especially in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The minister said the world amassed an international alliance against Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait. However, the same world is more hostile to Iran than it was to Saddam Hussein 11 years ago. Iranian leaders are crazy if they think about intervention in any Gulf country, because this intervention will give the world the pretext it is looking for to confront Iranian aspirations. He believes that the danger of Iran through its behavior in the region and its threats and attempts at sabotage are greater than the danger of its nuclear program. If Iran did not practice this racist policy and attempt to spread instability and chaos, the Gulf states would not be anxious about its military nuclear program. In the past, I differed with the minister about the Iranian nuclear program. I support it as long as Israel has its well-known nuclear arsenal, and I want every Gulf state, and other Arab countries, including Egypt and Syria, to try to possess nuclear weapons. The mere attempt will prompt the United States and the entire world try to make the Middle East a Weapons of Mass Destruction-free zone. The minister's response was always that Arab intellectuals are living in their ivory towers and write and analyze without knowing the complete details of the regality of the situation on the ground. However, I finally discovered that the opinion I have written in this column time after time is not that of an isolated intellectual. I recently read that Prince Turki Faisal, the former head of Saudi intelligence, proposed in an address at the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research, the establishment of a joint Gulf army with a military nuclear capability. I should note that Prince Khaled bin Sultan was the commander of joint forces on the battlefield with General Norman Schwarzkopf in the Gulf War. He proposed a similar Gulf army after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, and he explained the idea in a memoir about the war, entitled “Desert Warrior,” and in articles he has published. Returning to the private session with the foreign minister, he said that after the destruction in Japan, caused by a nuclear reactor hit by a tsunami, Gulf anxiety has increased over Iran's civilian program. It reminds us of the Bushehr reactor, which lies on a earthquake fault line. The water of the Gulf is the prime source of desalinization in our country and if this reactor is hit, for any reason, the water of the Gulf will be contaminated. The danger for the countries of the region from this is greater than that from a nuclear bomb. The minister complained about the choice of Bushehr in particular to build a reactor with old and obsolete Russian technology in an earthquake zone with Iranian engineers. The minister said the Iranian regime is behaving aggressively and arrogantly without a nuclear bomb, so how it will behave if it has one? He believes that the Iranians have the biggest interest in trying to prevent the regime from obtaining nuclear weapons, because this regime is showing itself ready to behave with its people like Qaddafi has behaved with the Libyans. If Iran gets nuclear weapons, the rest of the world will no longer be able to support the Iranian people and save it, like it is now doing with the Libyan people. I will continue tomorrow with more comments by the minister on Iran, as well as Libya, Egypt and other matters.
