Worried about the spreading, global revolution:
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it would ban all protests and marches after minority Shiites staged small protests in the oil-producing eastern province.
Security forces would use all measures to prevent any attempt to disrupt public order, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by state television…
Can they keep a lid on it? Perhaps – but it is balanced on a knife edge at the moment. One of the dirty, little secrets of the oil States is how not everyone shares in the fabulous riches…if your a member of the royal family in Saudi Arabia or among their close friends, you’re doing very well. If you’re not connected like that, then its a bit more dicey…and for those who hew the wood and carry the water for the Ruling Class, its not very good at all. And here’s the real kicker – most of those doing best out of Saudi Arabia are members of the Sunni majority; the Shiite minority doesn’t come off nearly so well and that Shiite majority mostly lives where Saudi Arabia’s oil comes from. Its a powder keg, and there are lit matches flying around like mad.
Personally, I don’t think that the Saudis will be able to keep control of the situation. You’ve just got to figure that Shiite Iran is stirring the pot (the Iranian and Saudi governments very much dislike each other). We’ll just have to wait and see – but if it blows up, then we’ll be pining away for $4 a gallon gas before too long.
UPDATE: China’s anti-human tyrants chime in with condemnations of the protests in the Arab world. Got them scared spitless, that is for sure…
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