Saudi Arabia will dominate Bahrain talks
\nBy shiapost – July 5, 2011Posted in: Bahrain, Middle East<\/p>\n
Dubai \u2013 Saudi Arabia doesn\u2019t have a seat at Bahrain\u2019s crisis talks, but it carries a critical voice in everything from the tone of debate to the eventual offers on the table.<\/p>\n
After four months of Shia-led protests and harsh crackdowns, Saudi Arabia has become the protector, patron and political gatekeeper for Bahrain\u2019s Sunni monarchy in the Gulf leadership\u2019s front-line fight against the Arab Spring.<\/p>\n
How Bahrain\u2019s rulers approach the talks \u2013 whose first official session is scheduled for Tuesday \u2013 largely depends on how far Saudi Arabia is willing to allow concessions on its tiny Gulf neighbor. For the powerful Saudi royal family and its Gulf partners, Bahrain represents a line that cannot be crossed.<\/p>\n
Any setbacks by Bahrain\u2019s 200-year-old ruling Al Khalifa dynasty is considered a threat to all monarchs and sheiks in the Gulf \u2013 and a possible opening for Shiite power Iran to make headway among the pro-Western Gulf states anchored by Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
\u201cBahrain is crucial to Saudi national interest and Riyadh will provide it with all they have to show they are committed to preserving the rule of the Khalifas,\u201d said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst at the Eurasia Group in Washington. …more<\/a><\/p>\n