Following the surprise visit of US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to Bahrain, home of the American Fifth Fleet, tanks and troops of the Saud family dictatorship have crossed the causeway and are now occupying Manama. The film below shows Bahraini police tactics against unarmed protestors before the Wahhabi goons were called in. Meanwhile, the Khalifa regime is urgently recruiting more mercenaries.
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I didn’t know about the US twist, I thought it’s a mission to cursh the Shiites majority.
the Khalifa family has mobilised anti-Shia sectarian hatred to protect itself, but there are Sunnis as well as Shia among the protestors, who are asking for freedom and representation, not for a Shii theocracy. Saudi Arabia’s official Wahhabi ideology is of course fiercely anti-Shia. America’s worry is not whether the people are Sunni or Shii, but that democracy might (almost certainly would) threaten the presence of the Fifth Fleet at this crucila position in the Gulf.
Before I begin, I have to say one thing, I am totally against kettling and think it is an inhumane act that unjustly criminilizes peaceful protest. However, if you look at artilces like the one in the independent entitled, “How Britain taught Arab police forces all they know,” from the 19th of February this year, you do wonder why they haven’t tried this tactic in the Gulf. By kettling, I mean when a police force create a ring ( by force) around protesters and do not allow protesters to leave the ring. The rings are often kept in places which are quite out of the way.
If you believe the independent, which I probably do, it would seem that certain Arab governments rely heavily on British advice on security.
I suppose the answer might be quite simple, that most Arab governments prefer to persue a policy of denial, or, perhaps it is just incompotence.