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Washington now 'marginal player' in Middle East

WND

Surge of anti-government protests prompts 'growing panic' in Saudi Arabia

Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.

The United States' influence in the Middle East is plummeting amid the turmoil of the growing anti-government protests, as its longtime ally, Saudi Arabia, is experiencing "growing panic," according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.

The Sunni Hous of Saud feels increasingly threatened by the potential fall of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the surging Shiite violence in Bahrain where demonstrators are demanding the overthrow of the Sunni regime of King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa.

One source said Saudi Arabia's drive for self-preservation is making Washington a "marginal player in the Middle East."

If Saleh falls, the Saudis are concerned that the Shia Houthis, who are said to have Iranian support in northern Yemen, which borders Saudi Arabia, will consolidate their strength and pose a further threat to the kingdom.

Also, if Yemen would dissolve into a civil war, as much as half of Yemen's population of some 24 million people may flee to Saudi Arabia, which, sources say, would overwhelm the kingdom's capacity.

After all, the Saudis largely failed to manage the refugee crisis in the 2009-2010 war with the Houthis. It was a war that made the Saudis very unpopular with a majority of the Yemeni people.

Similarly, the Saudis have been so concerned that the Shia Arabs will gain the upper hand in Bahrain, they recently dispatched 1,000 troops there, along with troops from the United Arab Emirates. The goal was to help the Bahraini regime put down the increasingly violent Shiite riots.

Bahrain is the headquarters for the U.S. Fifth fleet and also is a base for sensitive eavesdropping equipment to listen to what is going on in Iran. The U.S. investment also helps explain why the U.S. has not condemned the Bahraini regime for its crackdown on the demonstrators or criticized Saudi Arabia for sending in its troops there.

To one Middle East analyst, the Saudi regime's assertiveness in the face of a threat to its own existence may indicate how much the U.S. has been marginalized in Middle East developments.

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March 25, 2011

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