Some of the biggest news in the region - Jordan has formally made a bid to join the GCC (
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Cooperation_Council_for_the_Arab_States_of_the_Gulf). The application is basically considered a formality, and rapid acceptance is anticipated.
Morocco has just been accepted as well.
This is, from the perspective of a person living here, the best news I've heard in ages. The economic benefits will be vast, as with GCC membership laborers can move freely (without residency permits and visas) between the countries. Oil prices in Jordan will certainly go down. From my perspective, just being able to enter Saudi without a month-long wait for a visa that I might not get anyway is tremendous - business has been seriously hampered by the restrictions there. I have 2 passports, so Saudi was my only problem, but my Jordanian colleagues, for example, also had to apply for advance visas for UAE, Qatar and Kuwait and were often rejected.
Reflecting the Jordanian optimism, the Amman Stock exchange trading value was JD11.9 million on Tuesday; on Wednesday it more than doubled to JD25.7 million.
But that's all the optimism. Now think about it from a Western perspective. If the GCC is bringing in other non-Gulf Arab countries to stem the revolts and relieve the economic burdens of the people that is driving unrest, what does that mean for the rest of the world?
For one thing, as I understand, it will also be a military union.
For another, countries like Jordan which are supported by the U.S., in exchange for playing nice with Israel, aren't going to be so desperate for American money.
On the other hand, it is considered to be a union to form a strong alliance against the Iranian threat in the region, which is good for everyone in the world but Iran.
Thoughts?