All about Pearl roundabout

A VERY GOOD PIECE

By Pepe Escobar
Asia Times

"The historic, Great 2011 Arab revolt is relentless - those initial jasmine winds from the Maghreb turning into sandstorms east and west and now blanketing all latitudes across Northern Africa and the Middle East all the way to Southwest Asia, in Iran.

This Thursday, the key focus is Libya - check out this cracking rap, where "send the devil back to hell" is directed at the eternal Gaddafi. Sunday the focus is Morocco - check out this video of what young - and old - Moroccans want for their lives.

One doesn't need to be a weatherman to see which way the wind, swirling with Gandhiesque civil disobedience, blows across the whole Umma al Arabiya (the Arab nation). And that includes hugely strategic Bahrain.......

The key problem is that Shi'ites defying the powers that be in Bahrain would seduce all other minority Gulf Arab Shi'ites, from Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia itself. And one thing is certain; a really representative Shi'ite-dominated government would mean goodbye to the US 5th Fleet.

This could get really messy - and it certainly will. If protests do reach an Egyptian fever level - crackdown or not - Saudi Arabia will enter the fray to keep the al-Khalifa in power. Rumors swirl that Saudi police has already crossed the causeway to combat protests. The Saudis, like obedient vassals, after all are fighting for the interests of the US naval base. And the circus must go on - there's a Formula 1 race coming. One thing is certain; Shi'ites will put up one hell of a fight. And sooner rather than later, they will be back with a vengeance at the Pearl roundabout. "