Saudi troops sent to crush Bahrain protests 'had British training'

The Guardian 28 May 2011:

"...In response to questions made under the Freedom of Information Act, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed that British personnel regularly run courses for the national guard in "weapons, fieldcraft and general military skills training, as well as incident handling, bomb disposal, search, public order and sniper training". The courses are organised through the British Military Mission to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, an obscure unit that consists of 11 British army personnel under the command of a brigadier...."

The Telegraph May 25. 2011:

"...The Ministry of Defence has now admitted that members of the Saudi Arabian National Guard sent into Bahrain may have received military training from the British Armed Forces in Saudi Arabia.

The revelation is likely to renew allegations that the Coalition is sending mixed messages on democracy in the Middle East.

Despite British criticism of the Bahrainis' actions, David Cameron last week welcomed the Crown Prince of Bahrain to Downing Street, drawing criticism from human rights groups.

Britain keeps a large and secretive military training team in Saudi Arabia. British military personnel advise and teach the kingdom's forces in areas including crowd control

In a written parliamentary answer, Nick Harvey, the Armed Forces Minister, said the Government could not rule out the possibility that British-trained Saudis took part in the Bahraini operation.

He said: "The Ministry of Defence has extensive and wide-ranging bilateral engagement with Saudi Arabia in support of the Government's wider foreign policy goals. The Ministry of Defence's engagement with Saudi Arabia includes training provided to the Saudi Arabian National Guard, delivered through the British mission."

"It is possible that some members of the Saudi Arabian National Guard which were deployed in Bahrain may have undertaken some training provided by the British military mission." ..."

Wikileaks: Et interessant indblik i den Saudi-Arabiske kongefamilies økonomi.

LONDON (Reuters) - When Saudi King Abdullah arrived home last week, he came bearing gifts: handouts worth $37 billion, apparently intended to placate Saudis of modest means and insulate the world's biggest oil exporter from the wave of protest sweeping the Arab world.

But some of the biggest handouts over the past two decades have gone to his own extended family, according to unpublished American diplomatic cables dating back to 1996.

The cables, obtained by WikiLeaks and reviewed by Reuters, provide remarkable insight into how much the vast royal welfare program has cost the country -- not just financially but in terms of undermining social cohesion.

Raw Story: "‘Royal welfare’ costs Saudis tens of billions every year, leaked cables reveal."