The rapidly changing face of the middle east

TRR readers, familiarize yourselves with this map. This is where most of the news will be coming from for a while and it's useful to know the geography of the region while reading or watching the reports of revolution.

                                         Click to enlarge

Today, the Bahrain citizens are staging an uprising to demand fairer treatement from their government. The population is comprised of a Shiite majority which is ruled by a Sunni monarchy. But the Shiite/Sunni difference isn't what they're demonstrating about. They, like their Egyptian counterparts, want government reforms and looser restrictions on the media and internet.

I don't think this is a religious uprising, thankfully, but the Muslim Brotherhood or a Taliban-type group could get a foot hold if allowed to. That this is the "home" of the US Navy's 5th Fleet is troubling if fundamentalists get some form of political influence. I doubt the ruling monarchy would allow any of it's power to be taken, though it might give some up to appease the demonstrators....and that would be a good thing.

Anyway, keep your eye on the quickly-developing news and maps of the region. Oil, shipping lanes, Islamic fundamentalism, anti-Zionist sentiment, US military presence, and the peoples' desire for representative democratic reforms to their governments all will play a role in the rapidly changing face of the middle east.