5 nations’ forces arrive in Egypt for large-scale drill of proposed ‘Arab NATO’ alliance

Ground, air and naval units from five Arab nations are arriving to join their Egyptian counterparts for large-scale war games, Cairo has said. Forces from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan will take part in the November 3-16 exercises codenamed ‘Arab Shield.’ The drill is to take place in western Egypt. The announcement on Wednesday came a little more than a month after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with the foreign ministers from the six nations, plus those from Oman and Qatar, to advance the creation of an anti-Iran alliance uniting America’s Middle East partners, AP reports. The proposed alliance, dubbed ‘Arab NATO,’ follows the derailment three years ago of efforts to create a joint Arab force agreed by a 2015 Arab summit.