Cohen arrives in the Gulf region

US Defense Secretary William Cohen arrived today the Gulf area in an attempt to persuade the six Gulf Cooperation Council member states (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait) to purchase new US military equipment to confront any possibility of chemical warfare between Iraq and Iran in the future.

Gulf sources said Cohen's tour will not be like his previous ones, as this time there are new developments, among which are opening diplomatic relations among Iraq, Bahrain and Oman to be followed by the UAE and that the gulf states will be asking for lifting the sanctions as opposed to his last visit when they sought the US forces against Iraq.