Moroccans are puzzled as to why the government is looking to join a regional defence bloc so far from the Maghreb. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/05/18/feature-03

The GCC originally made the decision to invite Morocco and Jordan – both monarchies – during a meeting of its Supreme Council in Riyadh on May 10th. Founded in 1981, the group includes Kuwait, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.But analysts in Morocco were surprised by the move, with Khalid Soufiani, Secretary-General of the Arab National Congress, saying he feared that it would create a group of monarchies at the expense of other Arab states.

"The political scene in Morocco and the progressive mobilisation of people that the country is witnessing towards fundamental changes in the very nature of the ruling government is but an indicator of the core differences between Morocco and the rest of the Arab Gulf countries," he commented.

"This would be an impediment to the formation of such a union between Morocco and the member states of the GCC. Morocco is currently on a different trajectory to that of these countries," Soufiani said. "Such a proposal, which the Moroccan people reject, would derail the completion of the grand Maghreb project."Some Moroccan youths have set up a Facebook page calling for opposition to the kingdom's potential membership in the GCC.

[THE UNITED STATES AND THE GULF ARAB STATES: Interview with Adam Hanieh http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/hanieh180411.html

The GCC really is the core of capitalism in the Middle East. There's also CENTCOM, the forward command headquarters of CENTCOM, located in Qatar. It's also the linkage with the broader world market. And US foreign policy -- not just the United States; Europe as well and other states -- --------------- really see their relationship with the broader Middle East through the lens of the GCC. Now, obviously, this has got to do with the vast amounts of oil present in the region. But it's also got to do with the financial weight that the GCC has. You can see the GCC is a major investor globally.