U.S. says Saudi forces in Bahrain "not an invasion"

[IDemo]

Source: Reuters


Mon Mar 14, 2011 2:23pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States does not consider the entry into Bahrain of Saudi Arabian security forces an invasion, the White House said on Monday.

Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia sent about 1,000 troops into Bahrain to protect government facilities after mainly Shi'ite protesters overran police and blocked roads.

"We've seen the reports that you're talking about. This is not an invasion of a country," White House spokesman Jay Carney told a news briefing.

"We urge the government of Bahrain, as we have repeatedly, as well as other GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, to exercise restraint," Carney added.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/14/us-bahrain-usa-invasion-idUSTRE72D6RB20110314

[JCMach1]

1. UAE forces there too according to Dubai One

:grr:

[Kennah]

2. Of course not. It's a "police action".

[Marblehead]

3. bs

[grahamhgreen]

4. Kick

[grahamhgreen]

5. Kick

[bergie321]

6. ...

"My slightly different version of the same fairy tale is better so you all must die..."

[TroubleMan]

7. I found out yesterday that nearly all of the military and police in Bahrain are imported Sunnis from

other countries. The country has a large Shi'a majority and a small Sunni ruling class. Because of this the ruling class imports a bunch of Sunnis from other countries for the military and police, gives them citizenship, a job, and a house. Less than 1% of the security forces are Shi'a.

The Saudis are Sunni, so they're sending their guys to oppress the peaceful protesters.

[Shipwack]

8. Who knows, this just might unite everyone...

If there is one thing everyone can agree upon, is how much they despise the Saudis. Maybe this could get them to stop the nascent civil war.

*sigh*

Of course that's not going to happen. Only thing assured now is that there is no peaceful solution...

[provis99]

9. peace is war, ignorance is strength...

[annabanana]

10. One Sunni King riding to the defense of another Sunni King.

The Ruling Families of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are as close as The Sheik & GW.

[Alamuti Lotus]

11. the Opposition called it basically a declaration of war by the Saudis

but, they should have cleared their thoughts by the White House spokesman first, they would know how wrong they felt. :eyes:

[daleo]

12. We are going to need a lot of airplanes and carriers

Lets be fair - consistency says that we should turn the entire Mediterranean into a no-fly zone. Unless of course there is some practical upper limit to the expenditure of blood and treasure.

[marmar]

13. Newspeak 2.0

[Duende azul]

16. Yep. But in Libya they whined about Gaddafi's "mercenaries". Fucking hypocrites.

And not only the administration, the "liberal" mediafolks were all up in arms about that. Of course without any evidence at the time.

(If jon Stewart hadn´t already lost it joking around with Rumsfeld, he surely did it with his racist undertones when reporting about mercenaries from Africa.)

[DeSwiss]

14. I don't even know this country anymore. - K&R n/t

[IDemo]

15. White House announcements: now as relevant as HuffPo blogs!

[MisterP]

17. that's how the US did Grenada in 1983 (Reagan called it the high point of his Residency)

we "asked" the OECS to ask us to "help"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Grenada

[JCMach1]

18. I think we can see the price of a Libyan 'no fly' zone approval by the GCC

This stinks!

[SOS]

19. US hypocrisy on full display

Saudi dictators supply US oil.
Bahrain majority is Shiite.

US support for democracy is dumped instantly.

[howaboutme]

20. Bahrain ruled by a minority

The Shiite Bahrainians didn't even know how they were being screwed in their own country until they saw Google Earth and all the open lands used by the Sunnis. It was similar to Iraq where the minority Sunnis had control.

When a country is ruled by a minority the shxt eventually hits the fan. Such unfairness creates built up resentment in the people that eventually will unleash forces of unrest. Any country where there exists demographic divergences and over-representation by an ethnic group in the halls of government and in positions of power should take heed.

[bemildred]

21. Who can forget Nixon's classic: "I am not a crook"? nt