BAHRAIN GOES CRITICAL – AT 9:57 A.M. ET:   Bahrain is the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet.  It also is across a causeway from Saudi Arabia, and the Saudis aren't about to let anything untoward – like democracy – occur in Bahrain.  From Reuters:

RIYADH - About 1,000 Saudi soldiers entered Bahrain early on Monday to protect government facilities following recent unrest by the country's Shi'ite Muslim majority, a Saudi official source said.

"About 1,000 Saudi soldiers have entered Bahrain early on Monday morning through the causeway to Bahrain," the source told Reuters. "They are part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) force that would guard the government installations".

COMMENT:  We were supposed to see a "day of rage" in Saudi Arabia last Friday, but Saudi authorities put a damper on it.  The Saudi monarchy is a serious, if ridiculous, business operation, and isn't about to let its power slip.  And with the Libyan rebellion in dire straits, the rulers of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain can't feel under any intense pressure to allow national political conventions anytime soon.

March 14, 2011