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.

U.S POLICY TOWARDS BAHRAIN PROTESTERS HYPOCRITICAL AND SELF-SERVING

I have written in the past about the hypocritical treatment of the uprising in Bahrain by the U.S. Government.  Because the protesters are overwhelmingly Shia, and because Iran, close by across the Persian Gulf, is predominantly Shia, the U.S. can't bring itself to condemn the harsh and brutal tactics of King Khalifa and his Sunni government in an attempt to to crush the protest.  And all along, the protesters have been non-violent in the face of tanks, bird shot, rubber bullets and tear gas.

Why won't Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton come out and unequivocally condemn Khalifa?  Because Bahrain has a military tie-in with the U.S. military.  It allows the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet to have a base there.  The U.S. is so caught up with perceived threats from Iran that it will put principles on the back burner in its quest to protect its military presence located some 100 miles from Iran.

The U.S. prides itself as a government that supports democracy all over the world.  It has supported the Libyan rebels, the Egyptian revolutionaries and the fighters in Syria.  Yet the U.S. fails to stand up for those marching for democracy and representation in Bahrain.