Posted on 02/17/2011 8:08:21 AM PST by Steely Tom
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) - Troops and tanks locked down the capital of this tiny Gulf kingdom after riot police swinging clubs and firing tear gas smashed into demonstrators, many of them sleeping, in a pre-dawn assault Thursday that uprooted their protest camp demanding political change. Medical officials said four people were killed...
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.myway.com ...
Zero has started WW3 congratulations comrade obama!
Great Leader needs to call for change and change now! Then tomorrow he needs to say something different. The day after, Saturday, he needs to ask for the leadership to step down. On Sunday he needs to tell them to wait until September. So on, and so forth...
Now we see who the real dictators are.
Egypt could of crushed the pro democracy movement... but it didn't ... But they were supposedly a dictatorship
Meanwhile who HAS crushed a pro democracy movement ... China and Bahrain... and you just watch Saudi Arabia will be next... THESE are our true enemies, you will know them by their actions! forget what they say!
Yup. The Shah of Iran was probably the most enlightened leader in the Muslim world in the 1970's. But the American media branded him as a terrible dictator, Jimmy Carter sold him down the river, and we got a terrorist regime in Iran instead.
Mubarak was one of the more enlightened leaders in the Muslim world. But once again, he was portrayed as a monster, and we helped oust him.
The real monsters? YAWN. We wouldn't want to meddle in their internal affairs ... it just wouldn't be right.
Interesting take on the subject - hadn't thought of it in those terms...
Do you feel the situation in Egypt will result in a democratic government? Or will it devolve into an 'Iran' type situation? And is the 'outcome' more important than the 'intentions'?
Isolate Saudi Arabia and control the flow of Oil through the Gulf of Aden and the Gulf of Oman.
The Caliphate is coming.
Does anyone think that if 1 million citizens marched on Washington and camped in front of the 1/2 white house for two weeks that Obama would resign as he told Mubarak to do?
Everyone’s seeing conspiracy theories and dark forces at work. In reality it’s much simpler. The poor no longer have the expectation that their current political struture will provide a better future. Recession removed opportunities and now inflation makes their poverty and desperation impossible to deny.
In a nutshell this instability is over money. Tienamen Square -Not! Power is merely the means of controlling the money. In the Arab culture revolt is practically expected when the (often tribal) leadership does not take care of its people. The Bahraini leadership does not want to give the poor more money or political power. Why? Many reasons but since they’re not considered to be from the leadership’s tribe the leadership isn’t wholly responsible to them.
It’s sad but there are no easy solutions. If the majority took control they would likely treat the minority even worse. The leadership of many Arab countries is the country’s ethnic minority.
Iran may be behind this to some extent as they’re are all over Shia immigrant populations in the ME. However I think poverty and despair have much more to do with it. Like I said it’s a sad situation and there are no easy answers. Things are going to get worse all over, slowly but inexorably.
Saudi Arabia will be last, after they are completely surrounded.
See map in post 9.
Your post reflects what is spoken in the interviews and internet postings of the average citizens involved in these uprisings.
Appreciate your comments. As always, FR is the best place to find clarity.
Bahrain is a complex place. It is a Shia majority island Emirate. The ruling family and government is Sunni. They are Wahabbists, like the Saudi family. It is also the home of the US Fifth Fleet.
Yes. To an extent, these are cultural issues that go back many generations. No easy solution to those either.
Apparently this unprovoked attack on a mostly sleeping group that included women, children, and old people and has resulted in 4 deaths, also incuded a viscious attack on a journalist whose story is told on this AOL link:
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/17/abcs-miguel-marquez-attacked-during-bahrain-protests/?ncid=webmail
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