By Eric C. Sigmund
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia announced Monday a decision to send 1000 troops to Bahrain to assist local forces in stabilizing the country amid protests.  For weeks, Bahrain has been the site of large anti-government demonstrations.  Bahraini security forces have taken aggressive action to end protests, resulting in the death of a number of civilians and injury of dozens more.  The inability of police forces to end opposition rallies prompted Bahraini officials to request troops from neighboring countries.  The Saudi troops are only part of a deployment by the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), a six member regional group comprised of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to stabilize Bahrain.  An additional 500 troops have been sent by the UAE.

The move represents an attempt by Saudi Arabia to strengthen and project its power in the region.  One analyst contends that the Kingdom’s decision to send troops may have been influenced by its desire to contain Iran.  Saudi Arabia has increasingly asserted its influence in the region, offering foreign assistance to Yemen, Lebanon and Syria in recent years.

Shia leaders within Bahrain have criticized Saudi Arabia’s decision saying that foreign intervention amounts to a declaration of war.  Both governments contend that troops have been sent to help protect government facilities from attack and “to look at ways to help [to] defuse the tension in Bahrain.”  Sheik Abdullah, foreign minister of the UAE told reporters “There are other Gulf countries which are going to participate to support the Bahrain government, and to get calm and order in Bahrain.”  Saudi Arabia has also set up a $20 billion fund to finance new incentives promised to citizens by the government in Bahrain.

Officials in Saudi Arabia have linked the maintenance of stability in Bahrain with its own security, fearing that the success of protests in Bahrain could spark similar rallies at home.  The Saudi government has warned its citizens not to protest and has taken measures to neutralize opposition.  Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz, the country’s interior minister and half-brother of the King, welcomed the decision to send troops saying that “Some evil people wanted to spread chaos in the kingdom and called for demonstrations that have dishonorable goals.”

The Saudi government’s decision has put the United States in a precarious position as the U.S. walks a fine line between supporting freedom, democracy and social reform on the one hand, and the interests of its regional allies on the other.  White House spokesperson Jay Carney urged the government of Bahrain to exercise constraint but noted that Saudi Arabia’s intervention is not an invasion.  Protesters in Bahrain continue to hold the capital’s main square despite clashes with security forces.  Dialogue between the government and opposition forces however, remains absent. 

For more information, please see:

BBC Middle East – Gulf States Send Forces to Bahrain Following Protests – Mar. 14, 2011

Financial Times – Saudi intervention Raises Gulf Stakes – Mar. 14, 2011

Guardian – Saudi Arabia Polices the Region as Trouble Stirs at Home – Mar. 14, 2011

New York Times – Saudi Troops Enter Bahrain to Help Put Down Unrest – Mar. 14, 2011