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| Middle East |
| Growing Unrest in Bahrain, maybe Iran’s Behind It |
| 2003-08-20 |
| From Geostrategy-Direct, requires subscription Bahrain is concerned that authorities are losing control of the kingdom. Officials report growing unrest by a number of groups under the banner of social causes. Many of the demonstrations by the unemployed have ended violently. The kingdom has tried to respond to the problem of growing unemployment. But Bahrain doesn’t have the riches of a Qatar or Saudi Arabia and the young are becoming increasingly restless. Demonstrators have even been assaulting police during rallies and sit-ins. In one case the protesters tried to storm the Interior Ministry itself. Of greatest concern to authorities is the growing unrest by the kingdom’s young unemployed. Rallies that were peaceful earlier this year have become increasingly violent. Authorities are being pressed to stop all such demonstrations, which have focused on the Labor and Social Affairs Ministry. For weeks, hundreds of protesters have staged a sit-in at the ministry. Bahraini intelligence is working furiously to figure out who is paying these young people to sit for hours outside government offices rather than look for work. The most obvious candidate is Iran, which has long fomented unrest in the Sunni kingdom, which has a Shi’ite majority. Iran also has been seeking cracks in the U.S. military presence that surrounds Iran and Bahrain. The U.S. Fifth Fleet could be the first choice. |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #2 Rising expectations. This is good. Royal idiots just can't cut it in the 21st century. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2003-8-20 11:48:55 PM |
| #1 We need to take the consequences of their actions directly to the black hats. I don't think we have time to wait for an overthrow of the regime (I was hopeful this summer but they seem to have beaten the fight out of the dissenters). Time to level the reactor a la Israel? |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-20 4:50:45 PM |