Only if there was a Palestinian State in the Middle East, none of this would be happening. This violence had to be provoked by the fact there is a Jewish State in the Middle East.TIC
Saudi Arabian intervention in Bahrain driven by visceral Sunni fear of Shias Despite an official stance that the Saudis were there to restore order, the real aim was to crush the rebels
Saudi Arabia and the UAE between them sit on tens of billions of dollars worth of state-of-the-art military equipment. They have both backed calls for UN-sponsored "no-fly zones" over Libya.
Even if they are now willing to risk their expensive toys against the relatively meagre threat from Colonel Gaddafi's air defences, they will play a junior role to western forces.
It will be the second military intervention by the Gulf states in a few days, but the first was on a far more primitive level: teargas grenades fired at point-blank range into the faces of unarmed demonstrators; punishment beatings for injured protesters in their hospital beds; violence and intimidation against the wives and children of opposition activists in their village homes.
Hypocrisy is one word for the motives behind the deployment of the "Peninsula Shield" forces in Bahrain last week. Cowardice is another.
When I watched Saudi soldiers rolling over the causeway linking the two kingdoms on Monday, they were giving victory signs to local TV cameras. Bahrain TV showed archive footage of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and King Hamad of Bahrain performing a traditional Bedouin war dance together.
Despite the official stance that the Saudis and UAE troops had arrived to guard essential infrastructure and restore order on the streets, there was little doubt as to the real purpose: to put down, by whatever means necessary, a growing rebellion by the kingdom's majority, but deprived, Shia citizens.
The day before, unarmed demonstrators had effectively beaten the security forces in Manama. A move to clear a protesters' camp on the fringes of the main gathering at Pearl roundabout had led to an influx of protesters to the city, determined to defend their turf. The police withdrew when they ran out of teargas canisters.
The sight of the police – many of whom are hired guns from Pakistan, Syria and other parts of the Sunni world – running from Shia demonstrators reawoke the fears of Gulf governments that the "party of Ali" was on the rise again.
It is impossible to exaggerate the level of paranoia that exists in the minds of Sunni Arabs about the threat from Shia Islam and its homeland – Iran. Even the most well-educated and progressive of Gulf Arabs believe that Bahrain's uprising is being organised by Tehran and that the protesters are fifth columnists for a regime of ayatollahs.
In Saudi Arabia the paranoia is all-embracing. With a sizeable Shia population, mainly in the key oil-producing east, any assertion of Shia rights is exaggerated into an insurrection.
So the Saudis watched in panic as the opposition in Bahrain grew more audacious. Last Sunday I saw protesters make their most ambitious move yet; blockading the financial district a couple of kilometres from Pearl, bringing downtown Manama to a halt. Banks, five-star hotels and corporate headquarters found themselves behind the makeshift barricades and exports of refined oil products dried to a trickle.
The protesters' demands have grown since seven were killed on St Valentine's Day when police first tried to clear Pearl roundabout. "National dialogue" was offered by the Crown Prince, Sheikh Salman, but by then grieving Shia protesters had moved on. Many now want the end of the al-Khalifa monarchy, and the establishment of a republic. Even the most moderate now refuse dialogue without concessions first, the most important of which is the removal of the hated prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa.
Any centre ground has been wiped away by the military intervention. Sunnis are emboldened by the arrival of "big brother" to impose a military solution, while increasingly large numbers of protesters wear the white burial shroud of Shia Islam, indicating their willingness to die on the spot.
Into this cauldron are thrown Saudi and Emirate troops – the "thin beige line" as some westerners call them. Judging by their first few days, their orders seem clear: brutalise and intimidate protesters and their families. It's hard to interpret in any other way a "peacekeeping" force that uses helicopter-mounted machine guns against a medical centre. The protesters have responded in a mainly non-violent way.
Perhaps the first sign of real Iranian involvement will come when protesters look across the Gulf for materiel to fight off the government and foreign forces. If an Iranian "relief" shipment were confronted by Saudi naval forces, for example, it could spark open conflict between Shia and Sunni.
With Libya in the west and Bahrain in the east, the Arab world faces the awful spectre of war on two fronts.
Protesters in Bahrain 'ready to confront' foreign forces The United States has urged Saudi Arabia to show restraint, after it sent troops into neighbouring Bahrain.
Some 1,000 troops from Saudi Arabia and a further 500 from the United Arab Emirates arrived in Bahrain on Monday at the invitation of the government.
According to the opposition leader, the influx of foreign forces amounts to an occupation.
The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Manama says that unarmed protesters have told her they are ready to confront the foreign forces "with their empty hands".
Now Saudis take to the streets to demand the release of prisoners held without trial By DAILY MAIL REPORTER Last updated at 12:20 PM on 20th March 2011
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has handed out $93billion in a bid to try and ease growing protests in the country. Protesting in the Middle Eastern country is banned Dozens of Saudi men and women have gathered outside the Interior Ministry in Riyadh to demand the release of their relatives who have been held without trial for years. The move came despite King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia offering $93 billion (£57.5billion) in handouts to try and ease the political unrest. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new.....l.html#ixzz1HAqjOQXV
Box,Boomer, anybody? Maybe we can find common ground and mend our political differences. Are these just action by Obama? Do you support these actions. Lets have the debates while we can. Until they squash dissent.
This was probably the worst political move Obama has made since is inauguration. He not only pissed off his anti-war base that elected him, he pissed off the growing number of Ron Paul/Tea Party/ conservative/libertarians/independents - a group that is a growing faction in America.
This was probably the worst political move Obama has made since is inauguration. He not only pissed off his anti-war base that elected him, he pissed off the growing number of Ron Paul/Tea Party/ conservative/libertarians/independents - a group that is a growing faction in America.
This is the best news to come out of this mess.
CNN and MSNBC are 'trying' to uphold obama's decision, but even they are having a hard time. Both media outlets are reluctantly reporting civilian casualties and questioning why the u.s. isn't admitting to 'taking the lead' in this CONFLICT!! They both reported that this is a UN conflict HOWEVER, the U.S. is clearly leading the effort.
............for oil???????
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I know a muslim bank teller, in this country, who recently moved back to Bahrain. This bank teller left Bahrain and moved to Canada since their conflict started.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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