In a move that simultaneously adds concerns about growing Riyadh-ISIL ties and sectarian tensions in the kingdom, a suicide bomber destroyed a Shia mosque on May 22, killing and wounding over 140 worshippers.
The attack occurred in the eastern village of Qadeeh, shortly after ISIL issued a statement calling for attacks against Shias within the kingdom, where the terrorist group has a stronghold and claimed credit for the bombing.
Sectarian tensions have risen off and on in eastern Saudi Arabia over the years, but have been steadily rising over the last few months on the Saudi-led war against Yemen. Most Shias in Saudi Arabia live in the east, which is also where much of the nation’s oil production is centered. This makes the rise in tensions particularly serious for the despotic regime.
The grave situation provides evidence of an imminent humanitarian disaster that unfortunately has garnered little media coverage thus far. This is while the United Nations has no plans to investigate the suspicious attack and is not pressuring human rights organizations to dispatch fact-finding missions to the region.
Although Western military forces, the US, Britain and France in particular, have a strong presence and influence in Saudi Arabia, they are doing little to protect its Shia population. In stark contrast, they keep the international community in the dark while helping the House of Saud silence Shias and finish off the job in Yemen.
The latest attack was an act of cowardice, to say the least. It says little about the House of Saud’s legitimacy or ability to remain in power. And all of this puts a big question mark on the US government’s ability to resolve regional crises, which it created and inflamed in the first place.
It represents yet another example of how the Yemen war is truly destabilizing the entire Arabian Peninsula. Likewise, a spotlight has been cast on the direct consequences of the ongoing war on Syria, while the situation in Saudi Arabia is becoming comparable.
As predicted, the Assad-must-go warmongers have destabilized the entire Middle East, creating a new wave of violence and bloodshed in a region already troubled by too many conflicts. Anti-American sentiments have been stirred across the region too and this will cause new troubles for the White House tenants.
Despite what many in Washington believe, this does little to enhance US interests, neither does pursuing the policy of "might makes right". Obama’s failed policy towards the region, dominated by wars, threats and coercion, does offer the next American president with a clear guideline of what not to do next time in the Middle East.
