Gulf crisis threatens “Hasm al-Uqban” military drills

CAIRO - 11 November 2017: Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, head of US Air force in the Middle Eastern region said on Saturday that the annual military drills (Hasm al-Uqban) between America and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) might be abolished given the current political crisis.

Harrigian added in press statements to Associated Press that the US is studying to halt the annual drills known by “Hasm al-Uqban” (Eagles’ determination) with the GCC states given the current crisis between Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.

The United States has been operating the annual military drills since 1999, the maneuvers include Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE.

Four Arab countries including Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain cut their diplomatic ties with Qatar in June after accusing the rich-gas emirate of supporting terrorism in the region.