Brutal Truths: Retreat in Ramadi should trigger a review of coalition's ISIL strategy

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17. The Saudi dilemma

More than 20 people were killed in Saudi Arabia on Friday. The attack happened in the Saudi Eastern Province where Shiites dominate the population. It is the first attack to be claimed by the Saudi branch of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Similar to elsewhere, ISIL is directly targeting Shiite Muslims.

The timing of the attack is significant, given the recent activism in Saudi foreign policy on Syria. After the accession of the new monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia declared Iran's increasing influence in the region a key strategic threat. Accordingly, Iran is now a threat to Saudi Arabia in three zones. The first is Syria, where Saudi Arabia is now actively combatting to defeat the Bashar al-Assad regime.

The second zone is Yemen. Saudi Arabia has organized several air attacks to stop Iran-backed Houthi groups in Yemen, a key geography for Saudi national security. The third zone is the Gulf. Iran's influence in Bahrain, for instance, is again critical for Saudi Arabia. Shiite activism in Bahrain is rapidly affecting the Saudi Eastern Province, where Shiites dominate the population.

In the early phases of the Arab uprising, thousands of Shiites in the Eastern Province protested the Saudi regime. The Saudi regime spent a large amount of money persuading the people there but did not refrain from using organized violence to suppress the rebellions in the Eastern Province.

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnist/gokhan-bacik/the-saudi-dilemma_381590.html