gdom Divided Elham Fakhro March 8, 2012 -- Saudi Arabia's "day of rage" planned for last March failed to gain ground, and protests concentrated in the Eastern Province fell short of producing a national consensus around demands for political reform. The country's domestic stability has been attributed to a combin

t has arrested prominent Shiite dissidents -- always suspected of possible ties to Iran -- and doubled the number of Saudi National Guard forces in the Eastern Province, home to the vast majority its 2 million-plus Shiite citizens as well as the close to 90 percent of its oil production. Oil markets might have tak

an and Egyptian militaries. Moreover, neighboring monarchies, particularly Saudi Arabia, with its own EFTA00586512 25 restive Shia population in the Eastern Province, see Bahrain's current government as their first line of defense against unrest in their own countries and may try to help Hamad retain control. M