National Security

Meanwhile, 2,000 Miles East of Libya

By Mark Thompson | @MarkThompson_DC | March 18, 2011 | +

Violence is happening in Bahrain. You can witness the shooting of a civilian protester in Sitrah by security forces earlier this week if you click on the video above. But you may not want to. Probably best to click “watch later” and forget about it; it’s pretty graphic. Not sure if the victim was hit by rubber bullets or something else, or his fate. The cracking-down is being done by the government there, a key ally of the U.S. and home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet. The Sunni monarchy has killed several civilians, most likely members of the majority Shia sect. Wonder how many will have to be killed before the international community imposes a no-fly zone or other form of military muscle to stop the bloodshed of innocents.

Related Topics: bahrain, libya, National Security

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  • hippooath

    We’re very selective when we pick winners and losers in the lottery of ‘freedom’.

  • afguy

    Not really… we really want to “liberate” the oil reserves, in WHATEVER country they may be.

  • libssd

    Bahrain and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia make for an interesting contrast. Bahrain is majority Shi’a, but ruled by Sunnis, who control the wealth. Bahraini oil resources are minimal, and its real significance to the United States is as a military base for the U.S. Navy.

    The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia is, potentially, much messier, as most of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves are there, and there are several towns, notably Qatif and Hofuf, that have significant Shi’a populations who, as in Bahrain, have been largely left behind economically over the past 80 years. Immediately after the Iranian revolution in 1979, the Saudis were very concerned about Iranian contagion, but, as far as I can see, Riyadh has done very little to address the underlying issues.

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