 |
Bahraini people
protest tyranny |
Crimes against the peace, against the people
Editing, comment by Carolyn Bennett
WHY the people suffer
Hillary Clinton at State and Barack Obama at the White House
seem to take pride in killing, proudly pushing weapons on tyrannical kingdoms engaged in
brutal repression against “their own people” — all the while fantasying themselves champions of
somebody’s democracy, freedom, and human rights.
If this state of affairs, this belligerent
incompetence, this insensible immorality and lawlessness were not so terribly sad,
it would be funny.
A Psychotic diplomacy
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton attacks Syrian
leader:
We think Assad must go … The sooner
the better for everyone concerned… We want to send a very clear message to the
people inside Syria … we want to see an inclusive democratic Syria where
members of every ethnic group, every religion are given a chance to be full
citizens [ABC U.S. interview, April 1, 2012].
[What Syrians demanded that the U.S. president or secretary of state step down in the name of their notion of democracy? ]
U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice to UN Security Council attacks UN Envoy Kofi Annan’s Syrian peace mission
The Syrian people, like us, know that
the deployment of 300 or even 3,000 unarmed observers cannot on its own stop
the Assad regime from waging its barbaric campaign of violence against the
Syrian people …. Continued and
intensified external pressure on the Assad regime’ [is] … the best way to halt
the violence.
[What is the Syrian head of state called U.S. officials barbaric (is that even civil language for a "diplomat") and what if Assad called for the overthrow of the U.S. government?]
U.S. Department of State's entrenched, flawed relations
 |
| Adoring Dynasty |
In Washington, D.C., May 9, 2012, Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton poses with Crown Prince of Bahrain Sheikh Salman bin
Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland pushing arms to tyrants, against Bahraini protesters
“‘… We have decided to release
additional items [ arms] and services for the Bahrain Defense Force, the Coast Guard,
and the National Guard for the purpose of helping Bahrain maintain its external
defense capabilities.’”
Speaking anonymously to CNN, “Two U.S.
officials” reportedly said on May 11, the day of the State Department
announcement, that weapons included in the U.S. sale to Bahrain were “air-to-air missiles designed to offer interoperability [?] between the two
countries’ militaries.”
Agent Nuland had justified this crime against the peace and the people, saying, “‘Bahrain
is an important security partner and ally in a region facing enormous
challenges. Maintaining our and our partners’ ability to respond to these
challenges is a critical component of our commitment to Gulf security.’”
[How can a country justify murdering defenseless people who never have and never will harm you? You can't.]
Background: Bahrain, Western “allies”
This small Arab state (“al-bahrayn” meaning ‘two seas’)
situated in one of the world’s chief oil-producing regions, in a bay on the southwestern
coast of the Persian Gulf: an archipelago (an expanse of water with scattered
islands) consists of Bahrain Island and some 30 smaller islands.
Many years ago, the strategic importance of these islands was
recognized and exploited. Bahrain has been settled and colonized by various
groups, including the Khalifah family, an Arab dynasty that has ruled Bahrain
since the late 18th century. The Khalifah family opened Bahrain’s port
facilities to the naval fleets of foreign countries, including the United
States.
Britain and Britain
 |
Monarch to Monarch
Elizabeth - Khalifah
Jubilee |
Britain intervened in Bahrain several times beginning in the
early 19th century. In 1861, Britain and Bahrain’s Arab chief completed “a
treaty by which the sheikh agreed to refrain from ‘the prosecution of war,
piracy, or slavery.’” As protectorate [occupier], Britain assumed responsibility for
Bahrain’s defense and foreign relations with major powers. The government of
British India briefly in 1947 assumed Britain’s responsibilities but with
India’s independence, Britain resumed the protectorate.
In 1968, Britain withdrew its military forces
and Sheikh Isa ibn Sulman Al Khalifah proclaimed Bahrain’s independence (August
1971). A treaty with the UK ended the British protectorate. Sheikh Īsa became
Bahrain’s ruler and the country joined the United Nations and the Arab League.
Khalifah (Al Khalifa) dynasty (Bahrain)
 |
| Tyrant's coat of armsAl Khalifah
|
The Al Khalifa family (Arabic: Al Khalifah / English: The
house of Khalifa, founded in 1766) is the ruling royal family of Bahrain.
The
current head of the family is Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who became the Emir of
Bahrain in 1999 and in 2002 proclaimed himself King of Bahrain.
As of 2010, roughly half of the serving cabinet ministers of
Bahrain have been selected from the Al Khalifa royal family, while the
country’s only Prime Minister, Khalifah bin Salman al-Khalifah (serving since
independence in 1971), is also from the Al Khalifa family and is the uncle of
the current King (Britannica) (Wikipedia)
Vested: USA in Bahrain (a chronology)
The U.S.
embassy at Bahrain’s chief
city, port, and capital, Manama: September 21, 1971 –
U.S. ambassador ensconced: 1974-
Bahrain embassy established in Washington,
D.C.: 1977-
Emir Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa’s state
visit to Washington: 1991
Bahrain-United States Defense Cooperation
Agreement granting U.S. forces access to Bahraini facilities and ensuring the
right to pre-position material for future crises: October 1991
After a 48-year hiatus (1945-1995):
United States Fifth Fleet reactivated (replaces COMMIDEASTFOR), directing operations in
the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and the coast off East Africa as far
south as Kenya. Its headquarters are at NSA Bahrain located in Manama, Bahrain
(Garrison/HQ: Naval Support Activity Bahrain): 1995-
Emir Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s first
visit to the United States: 2001; official visit to Washington: 2003
United States designates Bahrain:
“Major Non-NATO Ally”: 2001
King Hamad’s official visit to
Washington, meets with U.S. President George W. Bush and his Cabinet: 2004
Crown Prince of Bahrain Sheikh Salman
bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa visit Washington, meets with U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton: May 9, 2012
HOW they suffer
Khalifah repression
U.S. contributes to rights abuse
Silencing the messengers
According to reports by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights,
journalists have been “targets of government repression since pro-democracy
protests began” last year in Bahrain.
Exiled Bahraini journalist Nada al-Wadi wrote this week, “Since
the beginning of protests in February 2011, [Bahrain’s rulers have imposed] restrictions
on journalists, proving that freedom of speech and the press in Bahrain has
always been a fiction. In little over a year, the crackdown on the press has
managed to turn the clock back 10 years – to the 1975 State Security Law and a
government that enjoyed powers to summarily arrest and detain its citizens
without trial.”
Al-Wadi said, “One of the clearest (and most dire) changes
over the past year has been the disappearance of independent voices in
traditional media outlets (newspapers, television and radio).
“Local television and radio channels rarely report on
ongoing demonstrations, as the government has repeatedly denied licenses to any
private channels,” she said.
“Six of the seven daily newspapers are
pro-government and regularly describe the protests as acts of terrorism and
sabotage. These include the widely read Al-Ayyam, Gulf News, which is owned by
the prime minister and publishes in both Arabic and English. Bahrain’s newest
daily, Al-Balad, is also close to the prime minister; and Al-Watan is infamous
for its hostile depictions of all opposition to the government.”
In a report published last summer at al-Jazeera, Matthew
Cassel said, “Bahraini writers, journalists, academics, novelists, poets,
bloggers, and others have been targets of state repression since pro-democracy
protests began in February.”
Aiding in the repression are “pro-government groups” who have
posted on various websites “the names and pictures of individuals ‘wanted’ by
the state. Many were labeled ‘traitors.’
Many were accused of ‘inciting violence’ and ‘promoting sectarianism.’”
In a March 2012 report on conditions in the island country,
the Bahrain Center for Human Rights begged the U.S. and Europe to cease weapons
sales and help end censorship.
“Because of the likely use of U.S.-origin military equipment
by the Bahrain Defense Force against protesters marching to the Pearl
Roundabout on February 18, 2011, and by Saudi troops who entered Bahrain to
crush the movement,” the report recommended that “the EU and U.S. should
cease military sales to Bahrain that could be used to repress the Bahraini
people.
“There should be an international moratorium on the lethal
use of birdshot and tear gas against civilians if not a ban of sales of such
weaponry to governments like the Bahraini government that have fatally used
them against their own people.”
On censorship, the report asked “the European Union and the
United States to challenge censorship practices under bilateral trade
agreements with Bahrain”; and, because potential loss of trade provides a
strong incentive for Bahrain to ease censorship of online content and services,
“to present to the World Trade Organization a case against Internet censorship.”
 |
| Protests in London |
Crimes against the peace across Persian Gulf
In today’s news from Persia, Iran’s Expediency Council Secretary
Mohsen Rezaei reportedly said, “Recent developments in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria
indicate new schemes aimed at dominating the Persian Gulf and taking control of
the region’s oil and gas.”
Indicative of a regional schism and deep distrust of the
West, a representative of a Bahraini Shiite leader suggested that “Saudi Arabia
and the United States” were “trying to gain access to the military bases in
Bahrain to apply pressure on Iran.”
The author and Chicago radio host Stephan Lendman said yesterday
on Press TV that “What is going on in Syria has got nothing to do with an
uprising [and] everything to do with a
Washington/Western-generated,
NATO, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon’s March 14 alliance-involved
insurgency to replace [Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad] with a pro-Western
puppet regime.
The United States as well as its Western and Arab allies, the
analyst summarized, are involved in an “insurgency” in order to replace the Syrian
leader with a “pro-Western puppet regime.”
Commenting yesterday on recent news reports that U.S.-Allied
Saudi Arabia was planning to annex Bahrain, Sheikh Abdullah al-Dabbaq in an
exclusive interview with the Iranian News Agency (IRNA) said, “Saudi Arabia is
seeking “to legitimize its criminal acts and policies in Bahrain through taking
over the sovereignty of the Persian Gulf country”; however, “Riyadh [Saudi Arabia’s
capital] is ignorant of the fact that the Bahraini nation and scholars are
vigilant and will never allow it to implement its plan.”
Bahraini protesters have been holding anti-regime
demonstrations despite recent constitutional amendments ratified by King Hamad
bin Isa Al Khalifa on May 3, which give the elected parliament power to reject
the government and its programs.
 |
| Bahrainis protest tyranny |
Two days before the scheduled 13th session of the UN Human
Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of rights records of 14
countries including Bahrain, Press TV is reporting regime forces attacking
anti-regime demonstrators in the western village of Shahrakan, Bahrain; and U.S.-allied
Saudi Arabia-backed Bahraini forces continuing their “violent crackdowns on
peaceful anti-regime demonstrations.” The rights review will be held in Geneva
from May 21 to June 4.
Perpetual chaos, perpetual war
U.S. in Middle East, South Central Asia
 |
| U.S drone plane |
The U.S. is waging permanent wars, Stephan Lendman said. And
as in Pakistan and throughout the region wherever the United States invades and
or occupies the charges and counter charges fly, from West to East and back
again. And truth amid violence and division, chaos and conflict is hard to discern.
 |
Is this too much to ask?
I don't think so. |
United Nations observers in Syria, presumably following a
seemingly well-intended peace plan of UN Envoy Kofi Annan, say “violence has
been significantly reduced in areas where observers have been deployed.”
Western
officials, on the other hand, reference a “Syrian opposition” charging the Syrian
government with continuous killings. And the government in Damascus blames “‘outlaws,
saboteurs and armed terrorist groups’ for the unrest and insists that the
violence is being orchestrated from abroad.”
Sources and notes
U.S. diplomats on Syria and Bahrain
U.S. Secretary State on Syria, April 1, 2012,
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/secretary-hillary-clinton-syrian-president-assad/story?id=16049737#.T7gGpkXY9PE
“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Crown Prince of
Bahrain Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa shake hands at the State
Department, on May 9, 2012 in Washington, D.C. Secretary Clinton and the Crown
Prince participated in a bilateral meeting on bi-lateral regional issues.
(Getty Images), Arabian Business dot com May 10, 2012, http://www.arabianbusiness.com/photos/hillary-clinton-meets-with-crown-prince-of-bahrain-457375.html
“U.S. resumes arms sales to Bahrain” (Elise Labott): The United States will resume some arms sales
to Bahrain after suspending them amid the country’s crackdown on protesters,
the State Department announced Friday,” May 11, 2012,
http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/11/u-s-resumes-arms-sales-to-bahrain/
“The U.S. is highly skeptical about the likely success of
UN-authorized observers forcing an end to violence in Syria, and is warning it
may not back the mission's renewal after 90 days.… Her remarks came after the UN Security
Council, in a resolution sponsored by Russia and China, agreed to send up to
300 unarmed military observers to Syria to monitor a ceasefire between the
government and rebels” (Brad Norington, Washington Correspondent From: The
Australian( April 23, 2012,
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/susan-rice-warns-un-on-syria-mission/story-e6frg6so-1226335585515
“Syria: U.S. Running out of Patience, as UN Agrees to 300
Ceasefire Monitors U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice told the Council after it
unanimously adopted the Russian drafted resolution authorizing the official UN
observer mission, April 22, 2012, http://www.talkradionews.com/united-nations/2012/04/22/syria-us-runs-out-of-patience-as-un-agrees-to-300-ceasefire-monitors.html
Further background: Bahrain, Fifth Fleet
Bahrain continued
Bahrain’s chief city, port, and capital, Manama
(Al-Manāmah), is located on the northeastern tip of Bahrain Island.
… Roughly two-thirds of the population is Arab, and most are
native-born Bahrainis, but some are Palestinians, Omanis, or Saudis.
Foreign-born inhabitants, comprising more than one-third of the population, are
mostly from Iran, India, Pakistan, Britain, and the United States. About
three-fifths of the labor force is foreign.
Several weekly and daily papers are published in Arabic, and
a small number appear in English. Most of the press is privately owned and is
not subject to censorship as long as it refrains from criticizing the ruling
family. The state television and radio stations broadcast most programs in
Arabic, although there are channels in English.
The American Mission Hospital affiliated with the National
Evangelical Church has operated continuously in Bahrain for more than a
century. Since 1947, Bahrain has been a base for United States naval activity
in the Persian Gulf. When Bahrain became independent, the U.S.-Bahrain
relationship was formalized with the establishment of diplomatic relations.
U.S. Fifth Fleet
The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for
naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and coast off East
Africa as far south as Kenya. It shares a commander and headquarters with U.S.
Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT).
Active April 26, 1944–January 1947; July 1, 1995–Present
After a 48-year hiatus, the U.S. Fifth Fleet was
reactivated, replacing COMMIDEASTFOR, and it now directs operations in the
Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Arabian Sea. Its headquarters are at NSA Bahrain
located in Manama, Bahrain (Garrison/HQ: Naval Support Activity Bahrain)
NAVCENT, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command; CENTCOM, U.S.
Central Command
Bahrain and U.S. Fifth Fleet,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahrain_%E2%80%93_United_States_relations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Fifth_Fleet)
Khalifah Dynasty, Wikipedia,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Khalifah
News from Bahrain, Syria
“Crisis has altered Bahrain’s media” (Nada al-Wadi), Daily
Star-Lebanon, May 17, 2012, http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Opinion/Commentary/2012/May-14/173279-crisis-has-altered-bahrains-media.ashx#axzz1v37dk2pZ
Nada al-Wadi is a Bahraini writer and journalist. This
commentary, translated from the Arabic, first appeared at Sada, an online
journal published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Nada
Alwadi has worked as a journalist since 2002 and “turned to Twitter in order to
broadcast the message of the Bahraini people during the protests that have been
taking place in Manama since early 2011” (Blog:
http://twitter.com/#!/bentalwadi ). She has taken a graduate degree at
the U.S. University of Maryland.
http://www.cyberdissidents.org/bin/dissidents.cgi?id=141&c=BH
“Aljazeera: Arrests force Bahrain’s writers into exile,”
July 15, 2011, Bahrain Center for Human Rights, http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/4400
; “Journalists say they have been targets of government repression since
pro-democracy protests began earlier this year, published on aljazeera.net,
July 15, 2012
Recommendations: “To end arms deals with the Bahraini regime”
and “To end arms deals with the Bahraini regime,” March 26, 2012, Post BICI
Report: A BCHR report on human rights violations since the BICI Report, published
26, March 2012
This report was the second publication from the BCHR
chronicling the events since February 14, 2011. The first “Bahrain: The Human
Price of Freedom and Justice, was pivotal in addressing the widespread and
systematic violations of human rights and international law”
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is a nonprofit,
nongovernmental organization, registered with the Bahraini Ministry of Labor
and Social Services since July 2002. Despite an order by the authorities in
November 2004 to close it, the BCHR is still functioning after gaining wide
internal and external support for its struggle to promote human rights in
Bahrain.
“U.S. presses ahead with arms sale despite ongoing
violations: no investigation into past misuse of U.S.-origin helicopters,
armored vehicles, and rifles,” May 16, 2012, http://bahrainwatch.org/press-release-6.html
Bahrain Watch is a monitoring and advocacy group that seeks
to promote effective, accountable, and transparent governance in Bahrain
through research and evidence-based activismhttp://bahrainwatch.org/about.html
“‘Unrest in Syria, Bahrain, Yemen West tactic to control
PG,’” May 19, 2012,
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/242055/syria-bahrain-yemen-pg-west-control/
“‘U.S., Saudi Arabia seek access to Bahrain bases for
anti-Iran purposes,’” May 19, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/241967.html
“Saudi-Bahrain merger plan doomed to fail: Iran cmdr.: A top
Iranian military commander says Saudi Arabia’s plan to merge with Bahrain is
doomed to fail as regional nations will foil plots hatched by foreign powers,”
May 19, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/242003/saudi-bahrain-iran-merger/
“U.S., Western, Arab allies seek toppling Syrian leader
al-Assad,” May 19, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/241981/us-allies-seek-puppet-regime-in-syria/
“Violence down in monitored areas of Syria: UN observer,”
May 19, 2012,
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/241926/violence-reduced-syria-monitored-mood/
Today “A car bomb explosion has hit the Ghazi Ayyash
neighborhood in the city of Dayr al-Zawr in eastern Syria killing 9 people and
injuring more than 100 others, state television says,” May 19, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/241960/car-bomb-explosion-syrian-town/
Bahraini regime forces attack protesters in Shahrakan, May
19, 2012,
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/242034/bahrain-attack-protesters-shahrakan/
Related
“Queen’s Jubilee guest list sparks controversy: The World’s
Kings and Queens are in town. Celebrating 6 decades of Queen Elizabeth’s rule
in Britain. But as the Queen shakes hands with monarchs like Bahrain’s King
Hamad Al-Khalifa, protestors are condemning her for inviting him,” May 19,
2012,
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/05/19/241928/queens-jubilee-guest-controversy/
Images
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Crown Prince of
Bahrain Sheikh Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, speak to reporters at the
State Department May 9, 2012
geography‑of‑bahrain0.gif
geography.howstuffworks.com
Bahrain is an island country in the Persian Gulf.
http://culture.yourdictionary.com/bahrain
0M. Arab, Jordanian of Syria
joshuaproject.net
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“The War in Afghanistan (2001–present) refers,” in the
phrasing of a Wikipedia article on this subject, “to the intervention by NATO
and allied forces in the Afghan political struggle, following the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001, to dismantle the al-Qaeda terrorist organization and to
remove from power the Taliban government, which at the time controlled 90
percent of Afghanistan and hosted al-Qaeda leadership.” 
“That’s why we want the withdrawal of [foreign] troops from Afghanistan as soon as possible,” she said. Withdrawing foreign troops will lessen the power of
terrorists. “If they leave at least the warlords and the Taliban,
these terrorists, will not become even more powerful,” making it for them “easier
to eliminate the democratic people of Afghanistan and increase the suffering or
killing of innocent people who survive or remain in the country.…”
The United States has come under fire repeatedly for
breaching nations’ sovereignty. Protests of drone attacks continue in Yemen; people
have held many demonstrations to condemn the violation of their national
sovereignty.
