The Saudis have already suppressed a potential domestic uprising on 11 March with the biggest carrots and sticks available in the Arab world: through money, $37bn for spending on the population; ideologically, by saying that demonstrations are un-Islamic; and by unleashing the security forces on the streets.
And now it will not tolerate the country next door talking about a constitutional monarchy. For the main aim of the Saudi force will be to ensure that the Bahrain royal family survives in its current form – in the minds of the Saudi rulers, real democracy in Bahrain must be stopped at all costs.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/mai-yamani-a-conflict-with-modest-beginnings-which-is-threatening-to-escalate-out-of-control-2241878.html
