U.S. SHOULD CONDEMN GOVERNMENT PERSECUTION OF PEACEFUL SHIA DEMONSTATORS IN BAHRAIN

The U.S. government under Pres. Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rightly condemn Syria for war crimes in the shelling and bombing of civilian cities.  But where is their condemnation of the Khalifas in Bahrain for sending out thugs in the police and army to shoot peaceful demonstrators with bird shot and choke ordinary civilians with corrosive tear gas?

Why the silence?  Two reasons.

1.   The U.S. Navy a has a big presence with its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.  And the U.S. thinks it should maintain a military presence there as a threat to Iran just across the Persian Gulf.  But the presence of so many American warships and sailors has done little to advance the decline of influence of Iran in the area.

2.  The peaceful demonstrators in Bahrain are Shia, whereas the ruling Khalifas are Sunni.  The relation of Sunnis to Shia in Bahrain is a lopsided three out of 10.  But the Shia find themselves cut off from working for the government or securing their economic rights.  Because Iran is mostly Shia, the U.S. has credulously believed the warnings of Sunni rulers in Bahrain and elsewhere who claim that Shia in Bahrain are disloyal and a fifth column secretly promoting Iran's agenda.  They rant against Iran, and exaggerate its nuclear program as a threat because, as Sunni Arabs, they hate the Shia Persians.

Thus, the U.S. under Obama and Clinton remain hypocritically silent when it comes to denouncing gross human rights violations in Bahrain.