Will Americans Be Targeted in Bahrain?
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The problem with an active foreign policy is that you cannot always set the parameters or dictate how foreigners will view your conduct or judge the sincerity of your words. Sure, you may invade a country and call yourself "liberators" or claim you're there solely to "civilize" a people, but it does not hold that the conquered people have to second those self-appraisals.
That is the problem the United States now faces in Bahrain. This tiny island kingdom was until now a sleepy version of Dubai and home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. That is all over. The Tunisian revolution inspired the people of Bahrain to rise up against their oppressors and the Egyptian revolution has only stiffened their resolve. Like all Arab oppressors, instead of gracefully accepting democratic reforms and easing one's way into retirement the corrupt Bahraini royals have sought to brutally suppress the democratic uprising. It should be noted that the uprising has a sectarian bent, though not only the protesters end. It is not their fault that the Sunni monarchy discriminates against the 70% Shia population, and the monarchy has played the sectarian card in order to ensure backing among most privileged Sunni citizens who has resorted to the most disgusting pro-regime slogans and attacks against their brethren. One hack on Twitter gleefully asked about the recent crackdown, How many dead?
Bahraini has been aided, so to speak, by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - two regimes who are loath to see democracy spread to the Arabian Peninsula. Sending troops and tanks to the nation, the demonstrators have been forcefully evicted from their own version of Cairo's Tahrir Square and violently attacked. At least six have been killed and military units have taken positions near hospitals to even prevent the wounded from being treated. As such many doctors are resorting to home care.
In the midst of all this stands the United States:
American officials say they had little warning of the troop influx. It came just after Robert Gates made a visit to Bahrain in which he emphasised the need for far-reaching political reforms, saying that if the country wanted to keep its Shia population out of Iran’s orbit, it needed to bring them into the political process.
For their part, many opposition members are convinced that the Americans gave the green light, and argue they are therefore complicit in the killing of protesters. This could encourage attacks on the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is based in Bahrain. It is possible that Saudi Arabia and the UAE made the decision to intervene on their own, angered by America’s withdrawal of support for the former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, a key ally. Neither country wants to see a wave of democratisation sweeping the Middle East. But both can probably assume that President Barack Obama will bite his tongue and continue to support them.
America cannot cry foul if it stays silent as a massacre takes place in full view of a major U.S. military base. The people of Bahrain are no less worthy of a life of dignity and freedom as Tunisians, Egyptians and all Arabs.
