National Security

Different Islands, Different Dangers

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | March 16, 2011 | +

Japan is an island nation. Bahrain is an island nation. Japan is home to major U.S. military facilities. Bahrain is home to major U.S. military facilities. Japan has been wracked by an earthquake and tsunami that has captured the world’s attention since it happened last Friday. Bahrain has been wracked by growing unrest as its Shiite majority protests the heavy ruling hand of its Sunni monarchy.

Things got worse at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex Monday when a blast destroyed the building housing reactor No. 3, leading to the loss of coolant at reactor No. 2, and spewing radiation into the sky. Things got worse in Bahrain Monday when the beleaguered government welcomed 1,000 troops, largely Saudi, to help restore order.

On Tuesday, Navy officials in Japan stressed there is no need for the families of U.S. military personnel to leave the country. On Tuesday, Navy officials in Bahrain closed a base school, warned sailors to stay away from protests, and said it would begin moving dependents, on a voluntary basis, out of Bahrain at government expense.

Related Topics: bahrain, National Security

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  • http://tisias.wordpress.com tisias

    At least in Japan there is a face of order to the chaos. I heard on the news that in the aftermath of the earthquake there wasn’t one case of looting, or riots. At least the Japanese, through all the pandemonium and criticisms of the government and nuclear companies, are working in a unified manner to achieving their goal, i.e. rebuilding their nation.

    Bahrain, on the other hand, is much more volatile from a military/strategic standpoint. The five-star admirals have to have ants in their pants about that.

  • centfan

    We have military bases in Japan originally to block the Russians and now to block China. Funny it hasn’t made much difference in the long run.
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    We have military bases in Bahrain to guarantee the flow of oil. Looks like that’s not going to guarantee much either. It certainly doesn’t lower the price the market gives us.
    -
    In any case I’m not sure what is the point of this post. Is it “poor us, why do bad things happen to a big military” or “why do little people on islands cause more trouble than they’re worth”? Explain it to me. I’m not sure what I should be afraid of while so many other people who are not me are much worse off than I am.

  • benjoya

    you left out that the bahraini king has “invited” the saudi military to come in and shoot some bahrainis.

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