Bah-rain

Bahrain calls in Saudi troops

Pretty stupid thing to do in my opinion. That's effectively admitting that they're not going to reconcile their issues in a manner they find acceptable so the rulers are simply going to try to enforce their will Gaddafi-style. Except that they don't have enough muscle to do that themselves so must call in foreign heavies from similar minded neighbours.

It will of course harden attitudes on the other side and inevitably lead to proper trouble. The sight of Saudi troops shooting Bahrainians might be a little too much for the Arab League and world at large to bear. Apparently Iran is threatening to get involved too. That could make things interesting for the west as they basically totally agree with Iran in this case.

"The west" in this case doesn't include the US though. Their flanneling and a general prevarication concerning the Arab revolts, not to mention their poorly timed vetoing of a UN resolution critical of Israeli settlements, amply demonstrates that they have after all (as many suspected) simply being paying lip service to their ideals of spreading freedom and democracy for all these years (the cynical might say that it is only their own freedom they are really interested in protecting) and that a stable energy supply is all they are really interested in. (Simply disagreeing with Iran would also seem to be a key US policy these days.)

The veto also demonstrates that, despite all his "new way" propaganda, Mr Obama is still beholden to the same right wing fundamentalist domestic interests that his Republican predecessors embraced. I don't pretend to fully understand US domestic politics but Obama strikes me as a man who cares what people think about him (he wouldn't be a politician if he didn't) so must have had some pretty strong reasons to make himself and America look so absurd in such a public manner.

Actually I really fail to understand their continued backing of the Israeli government. Like a psychotic little brother Netanyahu is exploring new paradigms in outrageous behaviour, safe in the knowledge that he is immune to serious reprisals whilst older brother is watching out for him. Older brother also knows that he can do no more than have the occasional private word as a public admonishing would seriously undermine little brother, perhaps fatally. Realpolitik would suggest that the US is better off abandoning their Israeli position in favour of weaseling into the good books of the many Islamic oil-producing states. The fact that they continue to hang on to their dogma makes me surmise that there are overpowering domestic reasons for it, though from afar I fail to see what they are.