The GCC stands for "get connectivity—carefully"

EDITORIAL: "The rise of the Gulf: The Gulf is managing its wealth better during this boom than it did during the last one," The Economist, 26 April 2008, p. 15.

BRIEFING: "How to spend it: A region awash with oil money has one or two clouds on the horizon," The Economist, 26 April 2008, p. 37.

Good articles talking about the roughly $3 trillion that will be accumulated in the region, the vast majority of which will be spent in larger MENA (Middle East/North Africa) trying to meet rising consumer demands while providing an estimated 100 million new jobs for a youth bulge heading into their middle years, when everybody—EVERYBODY—starts wanting to maximize income.

Comments

[Michael]

Unanswered semi-random questions in my head:1. Why do they import labor from South Asia and the Phillipines when there are an number of peoples closer to home who would be glad for the work (Palestinians, Darfuri and Iraqi refugees . . .)?2. Given the number of underemployed people with good educations in the Arab world, why are we running short on interpreters and regional experts? Even limiting induction to those Arabs who are willing to commit to a naturalization track should produce plenty of prospects.

[Nathan Machula]

Michael,1. There are many Arabs from neighboring countries employed in the Gulf states, with better jobs than people from South and Southeast Asia. In Kuwait, there used to be 300,000 Palestinians before the 1st Gulf War. However, since Yasser Arafat sided with Saddam Hussein, they were expelled in 1991. Besides, most Arab countries treat Palestinian refugees very poorly, and don't want any more.2. We're definitely in need of native language speakers, but regional "experts" are a dime a dozen. Of the educated Arabs who speak English and would like to come to America, I'd venture a guess that many would decline government work over disagreements with our foreign policy. But even more limiting would be getting visas, work permits, security clearances, etc.; a process that's become much more difficult.

[Michael]

1. Their current workers aren't exactly treated well, many Palestinians aren't associated with Hamas or Hezbollah (the Iraqi Baathists having ceased to exist as a threat), and that doesn't answer the question of Iraqi refugees (see previous comment) or the Darfuris.2. Depends on who's recruiting them and what kind of backing they get from the White House--given the funds, the Army could probably build its own security clearance system from scratch if need be.

Blech. I'm tired, grouchy and probably not thinking straight:P