ABSTRACT
It is frequently overlooked that external concerns over the security of the Arabian Peninsula are matched and even exceeded by the concerns of the governments of that area. When British security responsibility was paramount, only a few short decades ago, the entities of the Peninsula were not in a position to articulate their concern or preferred responses to security problems, let alone assume the military responsibility to defend themselves. But in the 1980s, there has been a far more fundamental change in security responsibility than the mere passing of the torch from London to Washington. In the interim, modern nation states — or, in some cases, city states — have emerged in Arabia. Just as they have taken charge of all domestic matters, they naturally claim responsibility for security affairs that affect their well-being and survival. It is this point that often seems difficult to grasp in Washington. What these states require from Washington is flexible co-operation in military assistance, not a return to a protected status.
