Looking Out for the Shias

Leveraging the support of an oppressed minority to help you out against their oppressor is a long-standing tradition.

I've mentioned that if we play our cards right, we might have a Shia realignment in our favor.

So our State Department has released a report on the treatment of Shias that shows our interest in stopping oppression and discrimination against Shias by Sunnis. One tidbit:

Saudi Arabia: The government continues to discriminate and commit abuses against members of the Shiite minority, about 10-15 percent of the country's 19.7 million citizens. Government security forces, mostly religious police, reportedly arrested Shiites based on scant suspicion, held them in custody for lengthy periods and then released them without explanation. Shiites are subjected to officially sanctioned discrimination of various forms.

Remember that Saudi Arabia's Shia minority is concentrated in the oil-rich eastern coastal region. Shia Arabia has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Let the Wahhabis keep the sand and holy places and call that Saudi Arabia. Poor fanatics don't worry me.