What is happening in Arabia in 2005CE
The British staged a withdrawal from the region in the 1960s and early ’70s: Kuwait (1961), Aden (1967), and Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial States, now the United Arab Emirates (1970-1).
Revenues from the oil industry, already vast, greatly increased after 1974, when the oil-producing countries renegotiated the oil price after the West’s support for Israel. The industry has brought in hundreds of thousands of workers from all over the world, but particularly from South Asia.
In Oman, the traditional hostility between interior and coast led to another revolt in the early 1960s. The sultan was able to put this down with support from his neighbors.
The region experienced a huge shock when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. The Iraqis were ejected by a massive international invasion, led by the USA and Saudi Arabia, launched from bases in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Despite the shock, the Iraqi invasion no more than interrupted economic progress. However, a threat to the stability of several Gulf states remains: the majority of their populations are Shi’ites, whereas their rulers are Sunnis. With the rise of a militant Shi’ite Iran after 1979, this has made this religious divide a source of anxiety.
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