A Gulf Sheikh down coming?

[davidbfpo]

A rare commentary on Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, with a Shia majority, who can have an unhappy relationship with their rulers. Interesting to see some Sunni-Shia dialogue.

Link:http://carnegieendowment.org/sada/20...-promises/ffnh

Ends with:

Finally, many in the province point approvingly to a sweeping investigation into the disturbances of the East published last year by the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies and leaked to an opposition website. Based on extensive interviews, the 125-page document is remarkable for its objectivity and detail in identifying the roots of dissent in the Eastern Province as an entrenched social, economic, and political problem—rather than as the usual explanations of criminality or Iranian-assisted subversion. “It is Saudi Arabia’s own Bassiouni Report,” noted one Shia activist in Safwa, referring to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. Sadly though, the document may suffer a similar fate as its Bahraini counterpart; it seems unclear as to whether or not Saudi authorities have the power—or even the will—to act on its recommendations.

[davidbfpo]

Small protests in Suadi Arabia, including in Riyadh; from a previously unknown source via a reputable hat tip:http://muftah.org/saudi-arabia-on-lo...exWNvk.twitter

A taster:

The Saudi regime’s failure to deal in a just manner with calls for reforms and civil and human rights has exacerbated popular frustration, and increased challenges to the government’s legitimacy.

[davidbfpo]

An IISS Strategic Comment, which opens with:

With a popularly elected parliament and relatively open political system, Kuwait is an exception among Gulf states. The resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammed in November 2011 marked the first time in the region that public pressure had succeeded in ousting a head of government. However, after nearly 18 months of feuding and two dissolutions of parliament, there is no sign of an end to the power struggle between the government and opposition factions. As Gulf governments harden their positions in the face of domestic unrest following the 2011 Arab uprisings, the relative openness of Kuwaiti politics may be at risk.

(And ends)As the constitutional court's verdict nears, the government will have to decide whether appeasement or containment of opposition groups is the best way to harmonise and restore balance to Kuwait's political structure. A radical transformation may be unlikely, but a compromise between different political factions could temporarily bring the crisis to a halt. The challenge for Kuwait is to attain stable government and at the same time accommodate an increasingly ambitious opposition.

Link:http://www.iiss.org/publications/str...tical-turmoil/

There is a thread on The US-Kuwaiti strategic relationship, from 2007-2008:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=3924

[davidbfpo]

Yesterday my wife and I watched the hour-long documentary by the BBC's security correspondent Frank Gardner, who had returned to Saudi Arabia, where he was shot by Al Qaeda in 2004, and his explanation how it has so far avoided an Arab Spring revolution. My wife would normally not watch such TV, but remarked it was very good.

Frank Gardner is a fluent Arabic speaker which helps, even if this was made with official "minders" it featured numerous critics.

Sometimes such BBC TV is not available beyond the UK, but assuming it is the link is:http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode..._Saudi_Arabia/