2,000 Saudi troops in Bahrain. [Archive]

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Le Socialiste

16th March 2011, 05:28

"New Tensions mar U.S. optimism on 'Arab spring'"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/20110315/ts_yblog_theenvoy/dark-clouds-gather-over-washingtons-early-hopes-for-arab-spring

Few Washington policymakers had any illusions that the sense of new, if tentative, possibility that greeted the wave of pro-democracy popular uprisings in the Middle East would be free of complications, setbacks and risks.

Really? They had no idea that the regimes in N. Africa and the Middle East would seek to suppress each and every potential uprising with state terror and violence? If anything, they probably gave these government thugs the greenlight!

Still, Washington seemed taken by surprise as long-time ally Saudi Arabia sent 2,000 troops and the United Arab Emirates some 500 police into neighboring Bahrain Monday.

I smell bullshit. :thumbdown:

Here's another article from the WSWS:

"Bahrain: Gulf states intervene against mass protests"
http://www1.wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/bahr-m15.shtml

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates flew into Bahrain on Friday evening, meeting with King Hamad the following day. Gates called for the government in Manama to take “far-reaching steps” towards reform, and praised the king and his son Crown Prince Salman as being “serious about real reform and about moving forward”—even as police were shooting and beating demonstrators.
Gates is concerned that unless the protests can be wound down quickly through talks with the Shiite political parties, the future of the US-backed regime is in doubt. Warning that the Iranian government would seek to profit from the crisis in Bahrain, Gates told the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes that he had warned the king that “time is not our friend.”

It would seem that the state of unrest in Bahrain is headed towards defeat. Thoughts?

Robespierre Richard

16th March 2011, 05:32

Yeah, sounds like the momentum is all downhill since Lybia.

Gates told the US military newspaper Stars and Stripes that he had warned the king that “time is not our friend.”

This is fuckin' epic though, like a bad war movie. :laugh:

Le Socialiste

16th March 2011, 05:34

Yeah, sounds like the momentum is all downhill since Lybia.

What's the exact status of that struggle? Last I heard Gaddhafi's forces were closing in on the rebel's strongholds and making gains in the eastern part of the country. :(

PhoenixAsh

16th March 2011, 05:36

Lybia is showing regimes can win if they use enough force and shows the "west" will do everything to stall and stall to buy the friendly regimes time.

Robespierre Richard

16th March 2011, 05:43

I meant that just as an analogy. Though I guess the core organizers of these uprisings may have an idealistic view of things where everything is measures by others' successes and failures in a sort of zeitgeist. Plus it made sense to the news cycle before the earthquake.

And yeah, don't want to derail this thread, in Lybia they're closing in on Benghazi.

Os Cangaceiros

16th March 2011, 06:20

Lybia is showing regimes can win if they use enough force and shows the "west" will do everything to stall and stall to buy the friendly regimes time.

Personally I think what Libya shows is that an insurrection against the state won't succeed unless it has support from a broad swath of the working class. The eastern portion of Libya had a long history of getting fucked by the regime, but it's going to take more than that to unseat the power in Libya.

Ghaddafi is a fucking dog who deserves nothing less than a slow death, though, and the same goes to the scum in Saudi Arabia. What originally was a moment of hope and optimism for me has turned into another bitter episode of popular rebellion being crushed under the boot of those in power...people being shot dead in the street like animals just because they want to be treated like human beings. and it looks like it's going to remain that way into perpetuity. Sometimes (hell, most of the time) the world just seems like a very dark place.

Le Socialiste

16th March 2011, 07:26

Reports of security forces (police and military) sweeping into Pearl Square in Manama; nothing as to whether the Saudi-led army was involved. According to this article, one Saudi sergeant was shot and killed.

"Bahrain unleashes forces on protesters' camp"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110316/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_bahrain_protests

MANAMA, Bahrain – Military troops and security forces opened a large-scale assault Wednesday against hundreds of anti-government protesters occupying a landmark square in Bahrain's capital, a day after emergency rule was imposed and clashes erupted in the violence-wracked Gulf kingdom.
Police and military units fired tear gas as they pushed into Pearl Square, which has been the center of uprising against Bahrain's rulers since it began more than a month ago. Shooting was heard as the attack was launched shortly after daybreak, but there was no immediate word on casualties. Black smoke was seen rising from the square.
It was unclear whether the offensive included soldiers from other Gulf nations who were dispatched to help Bahrain's Sunni monarchy, which has been under relentless pressure from the country's majority Shiite Muslims to give up its monopoly on power.
Helicopters crisscrossed over the square, which was cleared by security forces late last month but was later retaken by protesters after a deadly confrontation with army units.
Protesters on Wednesday fled for cover into side streets. For Bahrain's authorities, clearing Pearl Square would be more of a symbolic blow against protesters than a strategic victory. Opposition groups were still be able to mobilize marches and other actions against the leadership.
Bahrain's king on Tuesday declared a three-month state of emergency and instructed the military to battle unrest in the strategic nation, which hosts the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Shortly after the announcement, clashes erupted across the island nation, killing at least two civilians. Saudi officials also said one of its soldiers was killed.

Le Socialiste

16th March 2011, 07:35

Personally I think what Libya shows is that an insurrection against the state won't succeed unless it has support from a broad swath of the working class.

I agree completely. What has unfolded in Libya is a popular insurrection that has begun losing its steam (from what I can tell). What's more, the so-called council 'government' of the rebels was made up of former officials and military officers who had defected from the Gaddafi regime. If that isn't an example of opportunism, I don't know what is. I support - and continue to support - the fight against Gaddafi's reign of terror, but it must be expanded to encompass the broader working-class itself.

This, coupled with what's happening now in Bahrain, is sickening. Once again, it would seem that the powers-that-be have turned back the tide. But it's not over yet. What's more, every pushing back of the tide only demands that there be a second wave, then a third. It's a long and never-ending struggle - and the people will triumph.

Mather

16th March 2011, 16:48

Le Socialiste

16th March 2011, 23:05

Although there are many reasons for the Saudi ruling class in sending their troops to Bahrain, this may (hopefully) backfire on them. About 30% of Saudi Arabia's population are Shia and are concentrated in the eastern part of the country, right next to where Bahrain is. Any prolonged Saudi intervention in Bahrain could spark more unrest in Saudi Arabia itself.

That's true - any intervention led by the Saudi ruling class could potentially spark unrest back home. We can hope that such moves will come back to haunt them, but then Saudi Arabia has already shown that it's willing to crush dissent by any means necessary; the first "real" protest there was met with a massive wave of police and military forces. And if the current action is to mean anything, it could serve as a warning to any potential "troublemakers" back home.

Os Cangaceiros

18th March 2011, 11:14