Saudi Arabia opens “Newspeak Conference” with lacky partner King Hamad to “kiss and makeup” with hand picked citizenry

Saudi Arabia will dominate Bahrain talks
By shiapost – July 5, 2011Posted in: Bahrain, Middle East

Dubai – Saudi Arabia doesn’t have a seat at Bahrain’s crisis talks, but it carries a critical voice in everything from the tone of debate to the eventual offers on the table.

After four months of Shia-led protests and harsh crackdowns, Saudi Arabia has become the protector, patron and political gatekeeper for Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy in the Gulf leadership’s front-line fight against the Arab Spring.

How Bahrain’s rulers approach the talks – whose first official session is scheduled for Tuesday – largely depends on how far Saudi Arabia is willing to allow concessions on its tiny Gulf neighbor. For the powerful Saudi royal family and its Gulf partners, Bahrain represents a line that cannot be crossed.

Any setbacks by Bahrain’s 200-year-old ruling Al Khalifa dynasty is considered a threat to all monarchs and sheiks in the Gulf – and a possible opening for Shiite power Iran to make headway among the pro-Western Gulf states anchored by Saudi Arabia.

“Bahrain is crucial to Saudi national interest and Riyadh will provide it with all they have to show they are committed to preserving the rule of the Khalifas,” said Ayham Kamel, a Middle East analyst at the Eurasia Group in Washington. …more