dagblog - Comments for "Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest"

Bahrain's king declares

artappraiser — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:33:05 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

Bahrain's king declares martial law

Bahrain imposes a three-month state of emergency as sectarian strife worsens. Saudi Arabia sends forces to help quell unrest, inflaming tensions with Iran.

By David S. Cloud and Neela Banerjee, Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2011

Reporting from Manama, Bahrain, and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-bahrain-flashpoint-2...

Comes to mind that it

artappraiser — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 22:02:47 +0000

In reply to Just an FYI.I was on a

Comes to mind that it wouldn't surprise if the majority Saudi populace thinks that and this is the right and proper thing to do, along the lines of keeping Shia troublemakers (and what I imagine might be thought of as "their hooligan Sunni youth enablers") in their place as an obedient and grateful underclass.

Also, apparently the Bahrain royal family is a bickering mess, not capable of "precision." Sometimes when that happens the other tribal elders got to come in and teach em a thing or two?

Just an FYI.I was on a

kgb999 — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:30:38 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

Just an FYI.

I was on a Bahrain blog several weeks ago and the commenters were posting eye witness accounts of Saudi troops entering the country in the days after that whole Pearl Roundabout conflict where protesters were shot.

So, this is really new in terms of scope and being officially acknowledged.

More armored vehicle training

artappraiser — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:27:59 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

More armored vehicle training for Saudis, courtesy of Lockheed, approved by the U.S. Defense Dept.:

Lockheed training systems division lands deal with Saudi Arabia
By Richard Burnett, Orlando Sentinel, 4:01 p.m. EDT, March 15, 2011

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s high-tech training division in Orlando has received a $32 million contract to provide Saudi Arabia with armored-vehicle weapons training simulators, the Defense Department said this week.

Terms call for Lockheed Martin Global Training & Logistics to build a dozen advanced gunnery training systems for the Saudi military's armored vehicle fleet. Lockheed will also provide training services and logistics support as part of the deal.

The Army's Orlando-based training systems command awarded the contract – the latest in a series of military sales that have been in the works for U.S. allies.

It comes at a critical period in the Middle East with many countries – including Saudi Arabia – facing unrest and popular uprisings. Saudi military forces entered Bahrain on Tuesday....

Which makes me question Seznac's analysis from Foreignpolicy.com that I posted in a comment above. Either that or our State Dept. and our Defense Dept.are at war again. or at the very least not communicating very well. I'll give them the benefit of a chronology problem and a surprise, still this news is kind of damning.

For anyone slow on the uptake of the relationship here, this is the picture that has accompanied most news stories of Saudi troops entering Bahrain:

Photo source: The New York Times article linked to on the title of this post.

Photo cedit: Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Saudi government never

artappraiser — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 21:07:03 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

The Saudi government never ceases to amaze in its attention to, as their Information Minister puts it, "exceptional precision":

Saudi Arabia withdraws Reuters reporter's permit

(Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has withdrawn the accreditation of a senior Reuters correspondent, obliging him to leave the country, after officials complained on Tuesday that a recent report on a protest in the kingdom was not accurate.

Reuters said it stood by its coverage and welcomed an assurance given by the Saudi government that it would begin the accreditation of a replacement for its correspondent.

Saudi Information Minister Abdul-Aziz Khoja said: "We have been accustomed to exceptional precision from Reuters but its correspondent here in one of his reports lately did not relay the actual, precise picture we have been used to from Reuters.

"In any case, his limited work permit in the kingdom has expired," he said. "We welcome any correspondent the company appoints and we will help and facilitate the mission of Reuters in having a new correspondent appointed in the kingdom."

Reuters Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler praised the coverage of Senior Correspondent Ulf Laessing who has been based in the Saudi capital Riyadh since 2009....

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/15/us-saudi-media-reuters-idUSTRE...

Nothing to see here so move

Beetlejuice — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 17:51:25 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

Nothing to see here so move along...it's nothing more than another distraction...pay attention to the GOPer's and the MSM in the US using events overseas. like this and Japan, to distract our attention away from what they're doing.

Seznec argues this is mostly

artappraiser — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:16:12 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

Seznec argues this is mostly a slap in the face of the US because it comes right after Sec. Gates' Bahrain visit and is not otherwise necessary:

Saudi Arabia Strikes Back
The House of Saud's intervention in Bahrain is a slap in the face of the United States, and a setback for peace on the island.
BY Jean-Francois Seznec, Foreignpolicy.com, MARCH 14, 2011

....For the United States, the intervention is a slap in the face. On Saturday, March 12, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Bahrain, where he called for real reforms to the country's political system and criticized "baby steps," which he said would be insufficient to defuse the crisis. The Saudis were called in within a few hours of Gates's departure, however, showing their disdain for his efforts to reach a negotiated solution. By acting so soon after Gates's visit, Saudi Arabia has made the United States look at best irrelevant to events in Bahrain, and from the Shiite opposition's point of view, even complicit in the Saudi military intervention.

The number of foreign troop is so far very small and should not make one iota of difference in Bahrain's balance of power. The Bahraini military already total 30,000 troops, all of whom are Sunnis. They are under control of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa and supposedly fully faithful to King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. Bahrain also has a similar number of police and general security forces, mainly mercenaries from Baluchistan, Yemen, and Syria, reputed to be controlled by the prime minister and his followers in the family....

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/14/saudi_arabia_strikes_back

U.S.-Saudi Tensions Intensify

artappraiser — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 00:51:06 +0000

In reply to Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest

U.S.-Saudi Tensions Intensify With Mideast Turmoil

By David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt, New York Times, 8 minutes ago

Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops to Bahrain underscores the delicate position of its ruling class and creates a challenge for the Obama administration.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/world/middleeast/15saudi.html?hp