Gulf States: Stay Just on the Horizon, Please

Worried Arab rulers want U.S. help, but not if it is too obvious

The area surrounding the Persian Gulf is vital to the industrialized democracies of the world. More than 20% of the U.S.'s oil imports, 56% of Western Europe's and 68% of Japan's come from the gulf. That lifeline is acutely vulnerable to the disruptions of war, revolution and political turmoil. The region has been beset by all three. The conservative Arab states—Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman—face threats to their security at every point of the...