The Gulf: Buying an Insurance Policy

Ever since fighting broke out between Iran and Iraq more than four years ago, six countries on the Persian Gulf—Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates—have been concerned about the potential threat the war poses to their oil interests. The heads of those nations, which formed the Gulf Cooperation Council in 1981, met last week to take out a sort of insurance policy against any damaging spillover from the war. After a three-day meeting in Kuwait's palatial conference hall, built especially for this summit, the leaders announced plans for the creation of an estimated 2,000-to...