This is the time when Saudi watchers and analysts show their mettle. With the official presence of Saudi army troops now in Bahrain what does this mean for the region? How will it be reshaped?
To begin with, who are the real key players? Although Bahrain is the focal point or should it be said, battlefield, many may view the key players as Saudi Arabia and Iran, the United States a minority player with a large vested interest and Israel watching as alertly as a falcon.
Is the battle truly over democracy or pitted as Sunni versus Shii’a? Or is it more about tribes, regimes and quest for power?
Even prior to when Iran was ruled over by the Shah and now present day under Ahmadinejad, Iran’s goal has been to dominate the Gulf. It is to the advantage of Iran to destabilize regions using tactics which combine propaganda and influence to pit Sunni against Shii’a. Saudi Arabia may have taken Iran by surprise with its quick mobilization of troops in to Bahrain. But did this movement by Saudi Arabia really surprise the United States? The United States is in opposition to the policies of the Iranian government yet at the same time in favor of democracy and fair elections. Saudi troops in Bahrain would seem to be contradictory to what the United States government would want…or is it? If a choice had to be made between the lesser of two evils, perhaps the United States may give an outwardly appearance of disagreement on the Saudi movement but is actually silently endorsed?
What is going to happen next? Saudi troops are going to clamp down upon the unrest and upheavals in Bahrain. Their actions in Bahrain also demonstrate the lengths to which the Saudi government will go if there are hints of similar unrest within Saudi Arabia. In the meantime it is difficult to predict how Iran will counter the Saudi actions. Bahrain may become the battlefield for a new war between Iran and Saudi Arabia with the United States and Israel on the sidelines yet both poised to react for their own political interests.
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