Oil Wealth, U.S. Backing Enables Saudi Arabia to Crush Dissent in Bahrain and at Home

 Democracy Now: Oil Wealth Us Backing Enables Saudi

Saudi Arabia—the oil rich kingdom that is the birthplace and former home of Osama bin Laden—has staved off the widespread popular protests that have swept across the region since January. The country’s oil-rich Eastern Province, bordering Bahrain, has witnessed protests from the minority Shia Muslim population. In March, Saudi Arabia sent troops to Bahrain to support its royal family after a month of protests. We speak with Toby Jones, author of "Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water Forged Modern Saudi Arabia," on the role of Saudi Arabia in suppressing the Bahrain uprising, as well as its own. "We should not assume there is a lack of interest on the part of Saudi citizens in achieving some sort of democratic or political reform. There is deep frustration in Saudi society," says Jones.

Toby Jones, Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers University. He was previously Persian Gulf analyst for the International Crisis Group. He is author of the book, "Desert Kingdom: How Oil and Water Forged Modern Saudi Arabia" and is working on a new book project “America’s Oil Wars.”