Two Saudi brigades of 3,500 troops plus tank battalion in Bahrain
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report15 March. The Saudi force that went into Bahrain Monday, March 14, along with UAE and Kuwaiti units, to stabilize the royal regime is larger than reported, consisting of a National Guard brigade, a mechanized brigade of the Saudi army and a tank battalion – altogether 3,500 men.
Until recently close American allies, the two Gulf rulers flouted President Obama's policy of supporting popular uprisings, encouraged by Qaddafi gaining the upper hand against Libya's rebels and Washington's constraints against military intervention.
Official spokesmen in Riyadh said the units were put up by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to guard Bahrain's oil facilities and the financial district of downtown Manama. They quickly took up positions on the island-kingdom's main roads and traffic hubs including the routes to the King Fahd Causeway link to Saudi Arabia.
Saudi King Abdullah and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa are no longer listening to advice from Washington to go easy on the protesters and introduce reforms. The Obama administration for its part has made known its concern about Saudi action to buttress the Bahraini throne.
