A military force from Saudi Arabia is reported to have entered Bahrain to supress anti-government demonstrations.
Mohammad al-Maskati, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, said several of his fellow activists had seen the troops arriving.
The opposition statement said it considered the arrival of any soldier or military vehicle “an overt occupation of the kingdom of Bahrain and a conspiracy against the unarmed people of Bahrain.”
Anti-government protesters remained in the streets of Manama, the capital, on Monday, a day after thousands clashed with security forces in the worst day of confrontation since demonstrations began a month ago. The protests are part of the regional turmoil against autocracy but are fed in Bahrain by tensions between the majority Shia population and the Sunni royal family and elite.
The demonstrators on Sunday effectively shut down the roads leading to the capital’s financial sector and held rallies at the main campus of the university as well.
We didn't hesitate to condemn the Soviets when they crushed pro-democracy movements in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. What are the chances we'll do the same to Saudi Arabia?
Sorry, I must have been daydreaming. What was I thinking? The protesters are Bahrain's Shiite majority, Shiite as in Shiite Iran. This all somehow ties in with Iran and that ties in with nuclear weapon proliferation. And besides, our buddies are the Sunnis and the anti-democratic rulers of Bahrain are Sunnis and let's not forget the oil factor and - oh well, screw oppression! Heck, it's probably good for them.
My guess would be for a generic government statement calling for "restraint" from "both sides" (if the government responds at all).
ReplyDeleteResponse? Ha!
ReplyDeleteI'm not entirely sure what's going on yet, but I can guarantee one thing: it's hard to believe the Saudis would be sending troops into a foreign country without running it by the White House.
No doubt 6E. US Defense Sec Gates has already piped up about the Shiite/Iran connection. After everything Washington has done to make Iran the dominant force in its region they're now going to go ape over Bahrain. It's bad enough supporting tyrants but it's even worse when you're schizophrenic about it.
ReplyDelete