[somerfrost]

What a difficult situation for American foreign policy, the government has been close ally of US and our base there is of huge importance to say nothing of the oil. The Shiites, which are in the majority, want more say and their protests have threatened to overthrow the minority government. Recently Saudi Arabia and UAE have sent ground forces in to assist the government squash the rebel factions and this doesn't sit well with the US. The big danger is that if the Shiite majority gains control, they would become a defacto arm of the extremist government in Iran. How do we balance our support of democracy with the real world reality that supporting the rebels might effect the balance of power in the region and greatly strengthen Iran?