Fearing the collapse of its own autocratic regime, the Sunni royal family of Saudi Arabia on Monday intervened in the domestic upheaval of neighboring Bahrain where the Shia majority has grown tired of the Sunni monarchy.

 

Saudi military forces numbering 1,000 rolled into tiny Bahrain along with 800 soldiers from the United Arab Emirates to help squelch a protest movement calling for reforms from the royal government. The leading Shia opposition party in Bahrain, Wefaq, labeled the military move a “declaration of war and an occupation.”

 

Although the Saudi royals claimed to take action because they fear that Iran will try to exploit the situation in Bahrain if the government there falls, they are probably worried that the Shia minority in their own country would rise up if the Shia in Bahrain take power. The Shia in Saudi Arabia make up barely 10% of the population, but they are centered in the eastern part of the country, which is rich in oil.

 

Saudi Arabia’s actions came after U.S. military officials insisted the situation in Bahrain would not turn violent and that the monarchy was sincere about implementing reforms. The U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain, making any change of power a potential problem for Washington.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, David Wallechinsky

 

Saudi Troops In Bahrain: Sunni Rulers, Shia Subjects (by William Fisher, Public Record)

Saudi-Led Military Force Crosses into Bahrain (by Reem Khalifa and Brian Murphy, Associated Press)

U.S.-Saudi Tensions Intensify With Mideast Turmoil (by Eric Schmitt and David Sanger, New York Times)

Unrest in the Middle East (by Michael Birnbaum and Karen DeYoung, Washington Post)