-
Behind the Iraq Protests
April 18, 2013 | 20 comments
-
Turkey, Iraq, and Oil
April 5, 2013 | 0 comments
-
Sunni Reachout to the Shia Crescent
March 7, 2013 | 7 comments
-
Anti-Islamism in an Islamic Civil War
January 24, 2013 | 9 comments
-
Iraq: Playing the Sectarian Crisis Card
January 2, 2013 | 3 comments
At Large
Assessing Bahrain
The United States has its interests to protect. But it’s not being hypocritical about it.
Critics have often argued that Western nations — the United States in particular — have been hypocritical in their policies towards Bahrain. Is this claim accurate? Too often, no full overview has been given on what is going on in the country. Who precisely are the predominantly Shi’a protestors? What is at stake? Most importantly, which outside nations can influence the situation?
Bahrain’s Shi’a majority, under Sunni minority rule since the arrival of the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty around two hundred years ago, has for a long time justifiably complained of problems of discrimination, and while Bahrain began moving in the direction of democratic reform at the turn of this century, the reforms were gradually reversed as the government became concerned that Iran would seek to take advantage of greater political freedom on the island.
Indeed, by 2010, the American human rights think-tank Freedom House had demoted Bahrain from “partly free” to “not free,” citing, among other things, “harassment of opposition political figures” and “worsening sectarian discrimination.”
Now, the rulers’ anxieties over Iranian designs on the island are not entirely unjustified. Iran has made a claim to Bahrain many times (most recently in 2005), and has viewed the country as its fourteenth province since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s declaration of this status in November 1957.
Since the protests first began in Bahrain, it has been apparent that there are a number of pro-Iranian, Shi’a Islamists among the demonstrators: specifically the al-Haq movement led by Hassan Mushaima, who are to be distinguished from other Shi’a political movements in Bahrain like al-Wefaq, whose aim, like Iraq’s Shi’a political factions, is generally to ensure that the nation’s Shi’a majority leads the political process, while allowing the al-Khilafa dynasty to remain as a limited, constitutional monarchy, rather than subordinating the country to Iranian interests and plans.
The regime’s mistake, however, has been to view the protesters as a monolithic bloc that is part of an Iranian plot to take over the island. Instead of trying to work towards a compromise with the more mainstream opposition and only putting on trial the likes of Hassan Mushaima, the government has targeted for detention and torture protestors from al-Wefaq and even the secular social democrats of al-Waad. In the case of al-Waad, it is notable that the group’s currently imprisoned leader — Ibrahim Sharif — is a Sunni, and that al-Waad has cautioned protestors to be alert to possible Iranian attempts to take advantage of the demonstrations.
Meanwhile, a group of twenty medical professionals, who merely aided protestors injured at the hands of the security forces during the brutal crackdown on demonstrations, were convicted on charges of trying to overthrow the government. Bahraini officials recently announced their intention to hold a civilian trial for these medical professionals, but questions have rightly been raised regarding how different this new trial will really be.
Unfortunately, the regime’s actions have only helped to trap itself in a vicious circle by empowering the extremists who promote a zero-sum narrative that the government and monarchy must be dismantled completely. The longer the repression continues, the more likely the window of opportunity for a reasonable compromise will disappear completely.
Yet more at fault here is Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which have similarly regarded the protests as an Iranian conspiracy and have accordingly deployed thousands of “Peninsula Shield” troops — drawn from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates — to aid in the repression of demonstrations. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has looked elsewhere among Sunni nations to recruit support for the Peninsula Shield force.
For example, as the Middle East Media Research Institute reports, in return for Saudi promises to aid Pakistan’s economy, Pakistani private security firms have recruited thousands of active and demobilized Pakistani troops to assist the government in Bahrain, while Malaysia has promised to send additional contingents if necessary.
It is only in light of Saudi Arabia’s and the GCC’s role that one can appreciate why the West can do virtually nothing about Bahrain. Despite repeated calls by Western governments for reform and denunciations of the mass trials and convictions of medical professionals, only the Saudis and the GCC can really influence the path the Bahraini government chooses, and they are simply not listening to Western governments on the subject of Bahrain after the supposed ‘betrayal’ of Hosni Mubarak back in February.
Thus, the West is not being hypocritical about Bahrain at all, even taking into account approval of arms sales to the island. The United States’ primary interest is of course to prevent the likes of Hassan Mushaima from ever coming to power and maintain the base in Bahrain for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Its presence in the Persian Gulf is of course vital to prevent Iran from achieving hegemony over these waters, especially in the event that the country acquires nuclear weapons and can thereby gain a stranglehold over a major route for much of the world’s oil supplies. The West is unhappy with the status quo, but also willing to put up with it because there are no viable ways to convince the government, Saudi Arabia and the GCC that a political compromise is needed. Options are severely limited, and the West is simply acting on its own interests.
About the Author
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a Shillman-Ginsburg Fellow at the Middle East Forum, and a student at Brasenose College, Oxford University. His website is http://www.aymennjawad.org.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (39) | Leave a comment
More Articles by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
More Articles From At Large
http://spectator.org/archives/2011/10/19/assessing-bahrain
Follow us:
ADVERTISEMENT
Current Issue
- Inside the Gates of Eden
- A Nation on the Edge
- A President Loses His Power
SPONSORED LINKS
FLASHBACK TO: 1995
-
Pope Culture
A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
-
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck
Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
-
Dames at Sea
-
In the Absence of Guns
In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
-
The Metaphysical Martini
-
Counting the Costs of Clintonism
The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
-
Chuck McHagel
It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
-
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted
-
It’s the Best Time of the Year
The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
-
The Bush Crack-Up
Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?
Clip of the Day
ADVERTISEMENT
Timothy L. Pennell| 10.19.11 @ 8:57AM
This can all be boiled down to one word: OIL.
This can all be solved in one word: DRILL.
Everybody thinks that everything has to be so Complicated. Every Statement or Idea, has to be Nuanced. Every Bill has to be THOUSANDS of pages.
We have more oil, than the entire Middle East, combined. We have more Coal, than anybody else in the world. And, we have Trillions of Cubic Feet of Natural Gas. Yet, our Effeminate President, refuses to allow We The People, to use the Energy Resources that We The People, OWN.
Maybe he thinks it's too Messy?
In any case, we are forced, by him, and his Party, to continue paying Tribute, to our Enemies. We continue to Sacrifice Our People, and Our Treasure, to Protect THEIR Resources.
This is way beyond, just getting the Price down. This is, and has always been, about National Security. National Sovereignty.
As we speak, our loss of Sovereignty is on display. Our Ally, Taiwan, wishes to purchase 73 New F-16s. Obama says no. The Debt that we have with Communist China, and our Crack Addict like, Addiction to BORROWED MONEY, has rendered us Subservient, to our Chinese Bankers.
Drilling, and Fracking, and Building New Refineries, stalled Pipelines, and the MILLIONS OF JOBS that all of this would create, would put this Country back in front.
We used to be the World's #1 EXPORTER of Oil and Gas. We can be, again. We could be, now, if not for ONE MAN.
It's all in God's hands, now.
Come November 2012?
Then it'll be up to us.
RND| 10.19.11 @ 11:10AM
Tim, we're also selling tons of coal to China. It is in rail coal cars heading southeast to Norfolk for loading on Chinese ships daily.
Long trains coming out of W. Virginia. Every day and night.
I wonder if we get a fair price for this coal.
videos | 2.18.12 @ 9:48PM
Choose this day whom YOU will serve, and leave me out of your phony arguments.
Embittered centrist| 10.19.11 @ 10:34AM
A good article in which Aymen Al-Tamimi places the Bahrain uprising in its regional context where it belongs. Where I would disagree with the writer is that the government made no distinction between Al-Wefaq and Mushaima's Haq. Reformists in government reached out to the opposition in February and March but Al-Wefaq and its allies wouldn't publicly reciprocate handing the initiative to Mushaima and others. Mushaima used it to give the protests as specifically sectarian agenda and attempted to get a sectarian conflict going by setting up checkpoints on roads, fighting at the university and by marching through Sunni areas. Their strategy was to encourage sectarian fighting which would eventually forced a civil war. This escalation gave the hardliners in the government the chance to marginalise the government reformists and crackdown on all the opposition. Hardliners in the opposition and in the government both have the same ends: to stop the formation of the centre ground. But its only by coming together in the centre ground that Bahrain can move forward. A very bad situation which looks like it could go on for a long time.
As for Timothy's point - Bahrain hasn't got any oil.
Timothy L. Pennell| 10.19.11 @ 10:43AM
Hey IDIOT. They don't NEED any Oil. We wouldn't be ANYWHERE, over there, if it wasn't for the OIL.
Am I typing too fast for you? Or, are you always this Stupid?
TrueBlue| 10.19.11 @ 1:10PM
Insults don't help a discussion.
Timothy L. Pennell| 10.19.11 @ 3:11PM
Maybe not. But then, what does "Insults don't help a discussion" do, to "help a discussion"?
Nothing.
Idiot.
Pelligrino| 10.19.11 @ 4:20PM
Mr. Pennell, at the risk of also being called an idiot (a risk I'll gladly take on), TrueBlue is correct.
We are here to discuss.
And thoughtfully so.
You make good points in your commentaries and I have personally complimented you a few times on the content of what I have read.
Take a good, long, good breath. (I just did, too) We surely need good discussion here, good back and forth. But we have to do it as mature adults.
There are countless web sites where nothing of value occurs, post after post. People write nonsense, people (anonymously rage at one another. It all becomes real pointless real fast.
It's garbage. And you've seen those web locales.
Aren't we here -- many of us -- because we read about these big issues of our day, study them sometimes, and care deeply about the health and welfare of our nation. But, due to life circumstances, we are a bit "shut in." There is no nice round table set of friends with time or energy to engage with us and do political discussions right where we live.
So, as a substitute, we come here online. As a) we want to discuss with other likeminded serious adults, but b) just don't have access to that kind of circle where we live.
Am I right?
Here at ASO there is an honest shot at some useful reader commentary and back & forth. Good insights from normal, everyday decent people who aren't stupid professional pundits witih prime time makeup and hairdos. Please, let's not undermine the potentially good forum we have here.
Okay, you get it. I've already chattered on here too much. I don't think that Embittered Centrist meant any harm.
Actually Bahrain does also have oil. Nothing remotely close (as far as we presently know) to even the amounts of small nations like Kuwait and Qatar. But there is oil in Bahrain and it is sold for export. Right now Bahrain sits as about no. 42 on the list of world oil exporting countries. Oil is just a bit less than 1/3 of present Bahrain GDP.
Okay, I've said my piece. You have good things to offer here. Just keep it a wee bit more civil. Emibittered and TrueB didn't deserved to be derided as idiots. And you and Centrist are probably allies on many topics.
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:39PM
The only interest we have in any of the Middle Eastern states besides Israel is Oil. None of them are capable of maintaining research in the humanities and sciences besides Israel. If the ME states, besides Israel, vanished off the face of the Earth tomorrow, one can be assured that almost no significant talent in Literature, physics, medicine, biology, chemistry, economics, ecology, meteorology, etc. would be eliminated with it. The whole area, except for Israel, is a stunning waste of human beings' talent, especially female. Female talent, in particular, is kept under chains due to the imposition of a religious regime designed by a medieval thief, mass murderer, and pedophile, whose maniacal followers will threaten to kill people for naming a teddy bear after him.
Therefore, it is only in protecting our oil supplies in Saudi that we should be concerned at all about this.
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:40PM
By the way, Tim, I like you. You write interesting stuff. But except for Jack in Wi, Clint, and John786 below, all of the commenters I have run across here are human beings, more or less.
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:45PM
Computer cut off, Tim, sorry.
Therefore, try to be gentle when you can. The problem with responding by type to people is that they can't see you visually except through type, which sometimes doesn't get body language across.
There are plenty of true idiots to smack (in addition to the above, vtwin, most of what Canuckistani says, etc. without sideswiping an innocent bystander.). On the other hand, TrueBlue didn't need to be quite so blunt, as I could feel the smack from here.
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:46PM
Tim, I put the end parenthesis in the wrong place. Sorry, sir.
G-d Bless.
Timothy L. Pennell| 10.19.11 @ 6:09PM
I notice you left off, Alan.
Timothy L. Pennell| 10.19.11 @ 6:16PM
Hey, I just get worked up about everything that's going on with this THING, and his administration. And when some NIMROD goes after my FACTS, because of a SPELLING ERROR, or the use of COMMAS, it just reminds me of why the T.V Guide contains what it does.
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:47PM
Nicely stated, Mr. P.
Timothy L. Pennell| 10.19.11 @ 6:08PM
Bahrain does have Oil?
So, what you're saying is that he's STUPID, as well.
(Just kidding)
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:41PM
Embittered---however, the ultimate problem is should we care. I think I've answered that below. Interesting data you submit, however.
porno | 12.20.11 @ 12:27AM
yeah nice comment :)
porn | 12.20.11 @ 12:27AM
yes realy you tou
business | 2.18.12 @ 9:52PM
Not that he has a chance for the nomination.
John786| 10.19.11 @ 11:00AM
Hogwash analysis. America wants this, America wants that, America wants to choose, America wants bases......See the problem. May be we should support the bahraini people. Not send any weapons. Just a suggestion. But what do I know maybe America should continue supporting the murderous alkhalifa dynasty. Democracy is so unpredictable.
TrueBlue| 10.19.11 @ 1:11PM
That's generally how self-interest works. It comes down to what the person (or in this case country) wants, and how best to achieve that goal.
bebek | 2.18.12 @ 9:53PM
I didn't leave the Republican Party, it left me!
Occam's Tool| 10.19.11 @ 5:50PM
Especially when the people voting are maniacs.
amatör seks | 10.19.11 @ 7:10PM
wow Anda pergi Anda jalan kembali
Yenus | 10.20.11 @ 1:29AM
As A journalist and lived in Bahrain for the last two decades, I appreciate the contribution of the young author, who came near to the reality on the ground.I agree on most remarks but disagree on some other aspects.
Bahrain's case should be viewed from Iran's foreign policy in the region.There are hundred and one reasons to support this claim.Above all, I myself ,have witnessed many indicators to support this reason.
The Bahrain Government has the right to fear, for when the Iranians claim Bahrain as their 14th province, many Shites here received the news with applaud,and when the Penninsula sheild entered Bahrain, some opposition groups were on the verge to ask military assistance from Iran!
Overall, what the opposition needs is an Iraqi style of political discourse, where the power is to be shifted from the Al Khalifa dynasty to the opposition.
Allowing the AL Khalifa family to remain....is a myth, given the slogans chanted every night in the villages.The doctors not only have aided the wounded protesters, which is the right thing to do , but turned militants, again evidence is there to support these claims.As the likes of Hassan Mushaima, they are strengthening, the Iranian claim of dreaming Islamic republic of Bahrain, a copy cat of Iran , in Bahrain.Niether the Bahrainis at large nor the GCC will accept these proposals.
POST American| 10.20.11 @ 3:03AM
-------------------BOTTOM LINE-----------------------
AS the US economy is bled white by
the Globalist RED China set up, sellout
and TREASON OP ----Oxford-Fabian
sourced 'Color Revolutions' across the
recalcitrant Middle East.
Really just a banking (ie USURY) monopoly
at work ---sourced through the Milner Banking
sin--dick--IT created RIIA/CFR.
These are the INTER-national boys who
work USURY among nations.
Everyone who comes through their Rhodes Scholarship
programming (THINK the Rockefeller
blood-linked Clinton) ----has solemnly sworn
to work for 'world govern-ANTS'
and undermine their nation's sovereignty
---and one and all are TRAITORS
of the very, very highest order.
They LOVE big government because it
means big lending, and hence, staging
grounds for psychopathic levels of
USURY and social CON-troll.
Remember, RED China, the MOST
utterly unrepentant, utterly GENOCIDAL,
bankster enabled nightmare history has
EVER seen ---------------is our 'model'
and soon to be our 'world enforcer'.
----------HUAC meets NUREMBERG 2012----------
SİKİŞ İZLE | 1.9.12 @ 6:01PM
yes.i h mut denrey gun.gester at yug
Telemarketing | 2.4.12 @ 6:14AM
I wish success and many times higher.
sikiş | 2.18.12 @ 9:44PM
Once, in the early 50s, he was working on a pipeline out in the center of Missouri somewhere, and the union was trying to get temps to pay union dues or some other payments (dobie dues? I can't remember that far back) that weren't required. Some guys started raising hell.
porno | 2.23.12 @ 7:08PM
Once, in the early 50s, he was working on a pipeline out in the center of Missouri somewhere, and the union was trying to get temps to pay union dues or some other payments (dobie dues? I can't remember that far back) that weren't required. Some guys started raising hell.
azmak | 2.25.12 @ 6:59AM
Insults don't help a discussion.