Dispatch: Saudi Arabia Focusing on Potential Domestic Unrest

[Chiron]

Ever since the toppling of the Tunisian president in early January, Saudi Arabia has been using its resources to make sure that other states within the region, particularly Bahrain and Yemen that border Saudi Arabia, do not go the way of either Tunisia or Egypt. In recent days, however, there is evidence to suggest that Saudi Arabia is much more concerned about the home front and has been engaged in a variety of measures to deal with a potential risk of unrest within the kingdom.

Over the past several days, the Saudi kingdom has engaged in a variety of measures to try and prevent the kind of uprising that we’ve seen in other Arab countries. These measures include the arrest and release of a Shia cleric, the banning of public demonstrations, and statements from the religious establishment and the Consultative Council basically telling the people that any idea of public uprisings will be detrimental to the health of the country. Therefore, it appears the Saudis are moving along several fronts to try and keep the nascent unrest in the kingdom within check.

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[Jim]

Having spent a little time in the magical kingdom, my comment is that the threat posed by the Shiia is seen as the most grave. In Bahrain, the population is Shiia while the leadership is Sunni; in Saudi Arabia in the Eastern Provences, the Shiia are the largest groups. Of Course, the Custodian of the Holy Places (the king) represents a strict Sunni vision of Islam. So long as Abdulla remains the King, I predict stability. He is actively working to ensure that the people recognize the advantages of stability. These are interesting times.