The eyes of the world remain fixed on Ukraine, where Russia has annexed Crimea and is boosting its military forces along Ukraine’s eastern border. Lost in public consciousness is another recent and ongoing incursion after a massive anti-government uprising: the intervention by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in Bahrain in mid-March 2011. Three years later, foreign troops are still there, serving at the pleasure of King Hamad. The Bahraini uprising in 2011 was, in terms of a percentage of population, by some estimates, the most popularly supported mass revolt of all Arab Spring countries. It threatened not only the Khalifas, the Sunni family that has ruled the country for centuries but also the dynastic systems of other Persian Gulf nations. To keep the Khalifas on their throne, the Saudis sent in their national guard, the Emiratis sent police forces, and the Kuwaitis sent their navy to patrol the borders of the small island nation. The U.S. Navy, which has maintained a permanent naval presence since 1947, was already there. In addition to the estimated 5,000 Saudi and Emirati forces, about 7,000 American military personnel are stationed less than 10 miles from the Pearl Roundabout, the center of the country’s protest movement — Bahrain’s equivalent to Tahrir Square. While Bahraini officials pointed to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to justify the deployment, the GCC was founded to protect the six member states against external threats. But the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain was entirely an internal affair. Although Bahraini leaders tried to claim the domestic unrest was an Iranian conspiracy, they could provide no evidence to support this claim. Just three days after Saudi and Emirati forces crossed the border, all seven Bahraini opposition groups signed a declaration condemning the intervention and demanding their withdrawal. At the time, officials claimed that the forces were there merely to protect vital installations such as oil fields, not to squash the pro-democracy movement. That remained the responsibility of the Bahraini police. But with the death of an Emirati police officer earlier this month, it has become clear that the foreign troops are in fact involved in putting down protests.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 04:32:22 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015