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US have no ambitions in Gulf: Zinni

ABU DHABI - America has no colonial ambitions in the Gulf region and if the countries were able to defend their stability and security, the US will welcome such a development, said Anthony Zinni, the former US army General, who served at the central command.

He said that the US will welcome such a development and would prefer a military cooperation based on the Nixon doctrine.

Participating at the 9th annual conference of the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research on 'Gulf-Challenges of the Future', General Zinni said that he believed that the region couldn’t do without the US presence for some time to come. He, however, said that this is possible in long run.

Tracing the history of US military relationship and presence in the region, he said: ‘The future security cooperation between the US and the region should be based on protracted consultative relationship like the Nato, where despite disagreements on views, cooperation goes on.’

He said the present US administration was looking for ways to cut down on the presence of its forces and bases abroad, but the September 11 incident and subsequent developments compelled them to continue.

He also said that the US and the region have different views on threat perceptions and countries in the region never made their views public. General Zinni called for greater US investment and economic activity in the Gulf region to help form a stable relationship.

• UAE