Bahrain Excerpt, US President Obama – Arab Uprising Speech – May 19, 2011.

Our opposition to Iran’s intolerance — as well as its illicit nuclear program, and its sponsorship of terror — is well known. But if America is to be credible, we must acknowledge that our friends in the region have not all reacted to the demands for change consistent with the principles that I have outlined today. That is true in Yemen, where President Saleh needs to follow through on his commitment to transfer power. And that is true, today, in Bahrain.

Bahrain is a long-standing partner, and we are committed to its security. We recognize that Iran has tried to take advantage of the turmoil there, and that the Bahraini government has a legitimate interest in the rule of law. Nevertheless, we have insisted publically and privately that mass arrests and brute force are at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain’s citizens, and will not make legitimate calls for reform go away. The only way forward is for the government and opposition to engage in a dialogue, and you can’t have a real dialogue when parts of the peaceful opposition are in jail. The government must create the conditions for dialogue, and the opposition must participate to forge a just future for all Bahrainis.

Video – al Khalifa Representitvies seeking dialogue with Bahraini Protesters – March 16, 2011

Obama Speech on Middle East Transcript, May 19, 2011
Posted by Aurelius at 1:22 PM

In case you missed the speech and really want to read a few thousand words, here’s the transcript:

I want to thank Hillary Clinton, who has traveled so much these last six months that she is approaching a new landmark — one million frequent flyer miles. I count on Hillary every day, and I believe that she will go down as of the finest Secretaries of State in our nation’s history.

The State Department is a fitting venue to mark a new chapter in American diplomacy. For six months, we have witnessed an extraordinary change take place in the Middle East and North Africa. Square by square; town by town; country by country; the people have risen up to demand their basic human rights. Two leaders have stepped aside. More may follow. And though these countries may be a great distance from our shores, we know that our own future is bound to this region by the forces of economics and security; history and faith.

Today, I would like to talk about this change — the forces that are driving it, and how we can respond in a way that advances our values and strengthens our security. Already, we have done much to shift our foreign policy following a decade defined by two costly conflicts. After years of war in Iraq, we have removed 100,000 American troops and ended our combat mission there. In Afghanistan, we have broken the Taliban’s momentum, and this July we will begin to bring our troops home and continue transition to Afghan lead. And after years of war against al Qaeda and its affiliates, we have dealt al Qaeda a huge blow by killing its leader — Osama bin Laden.

Bin Laden was no martyr. He was a mass murderer who offered a message of hate — an insistence that Muslims had to take up arms against the West, and that violence against men, women and children was the only path to change. He rejected democracy and individual rights for Muslims in favor of violent extremism; his agenda focused on what he could destroy — not what he could build.

Bin Laden and his murderous vision won some adherents. But even before his death, al Qaeda was losing its struggle for relevance, as the overwhelming majority of people saw that the slaughter of innocents did not answer their cries for a better life. By the time we found bin Laden, al Qaeda’s agenda had come to be seen by the vast majority of the region as a dead end, and the people of the Middle East and North Africa had taken their future into their own hands.

That story of self-determination began six months ago in Tunisia. On December 17, a young vendor named Mohammed Bouazizi was devastated when a police officer confiscated his cart. This was not unique. It is the same kind of humiliation that takes place every day in many parts of the world — the relentless tyranny of governments that deny their citizens dignity. Only this time, something different happened. After local officials refused to hear his complaint, this young man who had never been particularly active in politics went to the headquarters of the provincial government, doused himself in fuel, and lit himself on fire. …more

Bahrain wants to expand military bases
By Erika Solomon

DUBAI | Thu May 19, 2011 3:25pm EDT

DUBAI (Reuters) – Bahrain floated the idea of expanding military bases within a bloc of Sunni-led Gulf Arab allies that helped it quash Shi’ite protests in March, while U.S. President Barack Obama criticized Manama over its crackdown.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid al-Khalifa said fear of Shi’ite Iran interfering in Bahrain may push the Gulf Cooperation Council to revise its military presence in Bahrain instead of pulling out when emergency law, imposed in March, ends on June 1.

“Any threat that any country would face would definitely, no doubt, affect its neighbors. Saudi Arabia is only 28 kilometers (17 miles) away from here. We are looking at the GCC force to be expanded, to have multi-bases everywhere in the GCC,” he said in an interview with PBS Newshour.

“So whether they leave or stay or be restructured, that’s what is to be discussed in the future,” he said.

Bahrain’s Sunni rulers imposed emergency law and called in troops from neighboring Gulf countries in March to quash protests led mostly by its Shi’ite majority, who are demanding democratic reforms. Some hardliners had called for a republic.

Obama on Thursday criticized the crackdown, saying that “mass arrests and brute force” were at odds with the universal rights of Bahrain’s citizens, and would not make legitimate calls for reform disappear.

“The only way forward is for the government and opposition to engage in a dialogue, and you can’t have a real dialogue when parts of the peaceful opposition are in jail,” Obama said in a Middle East speech. …more

Why Bahrain Should to Be Front And Center in Obama’s Middle East Speech
Mark Leon Goldberg
May 19, 2011

Nowhere in the Arab world today does the Obama administration face a policy dilemma more vexing as it does toward Bahrain.

Bahrain is important to American geopolitical interests in the region. It is the host of America’s largest naval base in the Persian Gulf and it is also considered a bulwark against Iranian influence in the region. For that latter reason it is also a staunch ally (some would say client) of its neighbor, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia, of course, is also a long time American ally and major oil supplier.

So, on one side of the ledger for American policy on Bahrain you have: 1) oil interests 2) a huge military base 3) a geopolitical ally to help contain Iran. On the other side, you have American commitment to human rights and democracy. Amidst a particularly brutal crackdown against activists since February, it would not be a stretch to believe that hard security interests have, so far, outweighed human rights in developing American policy on Bahrain.

Several dozen people have been killed; several hundred brutalized; and the opposition has been completely decimated. (The top UN Human Rights Official says 1,000 people have been imprisoned, which is a massive figure considering the entire population of Bahrain is only about 500,000). Yet, so far, the Obama administration has only issued some mild rebuke. It has not implemented any punitive measures against the Bahraini regime to demonstrate that it is truly supportive of the legitimate aspirations of the protest movement.

This shows which side the Obama administration is on–and, unfortunately, it is not the side of history. With the speech today, Obama has the opportunity to chart a new course.

Bahrain is the perfect proving ground to see whether or not this speech offers a meaningful re-balance of American policy in the region toward human rights and democracy. …source

May 18, 2011 at 3:00 PM EDT
Doctors Detained in Bahrain Face Accusations of Medical Abuses
By: Talea Miller

More than 100 medical workers have been targeted and detained by Bahrain’s government in recent months for their role in aiding protestors, say human rights groups, and many are still locked up facing military trials. But the government says some health workers engaged in gross medical abuses, including refusing care based on sect and exaggerating injuries to the media.

“If you are a health professional and wear a lab coat you are suspected of being subversive. You are interrogated, videotaped and compelled to offer false confessions of wrong doing,” said Richard Sollom, deputy director of Physicians for Human Rights, who was in Bahrain in April and authored an investigative report on the detention of medical workers.

“They are being abducted in the middle of the night sometimes from their homes in front of their children, blindfolded,” he said. Human Rights Watch has also received credible reports of torture and mistreatment from detainees who have been released. A doctor the NewsHour team spoke with in Bahrain — and agreed not to identify for safety reasons — said she treated protestors during her off hours and was detained for weeks as a result.

“During the interrogation, whenever I said something which they don’t like it, they will slap me again. And I was beaten also by a hose on my hands and my thighs,” she said. “In the dark…they gave me the paper of confession to sign it and thumb — thumbprint without knowing what is there in that paper.”

Bahrain’s Minister of Justice Sheikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdulla al Khalifa denied any form of maltreatment for detainees in an interview with senior correspondent Margaret Warner. …more

19 May 2011 AFP

British PM and Bahrain crown prince hold talks
LONDON, May 19, 2011 (AFP) – British Prime Minister David Cameron was expected to discuss the crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Bahrain during talks with the Gulf state’s crown prince on Thursday.

Bahrain has been strongly criticised by international human rights groups for its crackdown, which has included requesting troops from neighbouring Saudi Arabia to help put down protests against the ruling family.

Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa’s visit to London comes after he declined an invitation to the wedding of Prince William and Princess Catherine last month amid fears that his presence might act as a distraction.

Cameron’s spokesman said the talks were expected to focus on the anti-regime uprisings in the Middle East and north Africa and the Middle East peace process.

“Bahrain has been seeking to reform their political system in a number of ways, and that is something we welcome.”

Asked why Britain was welcoming the Crown Prince, when British forces were involved in military action to prevent the repression of protesters in Libya, the spokesman said: “We said all along that the situation in different countries is different.

“There are different circumstances and we need to reflect that. Clearly, in all cases we would support reform and dialogue.”

Denis MacShane, a former junior foreign minister from the opposition Labour party, said Cameron should not be “rolling out the red carpet for Bahrain’s torturer-in-chief”.

“We have well-documented reports of torture, including the torture of women doctors, killings, and even the Saudis sending tanks across to Bahrain to crush the protests in the time-honoured fashion of the Soviets in Prague or Budapest,” said MacShane.

Amnesty International UK director Kate Allen called for Cameron to use the meeting “to make it absolutely clear that the Bahraini government must end its relentless crackdown on human rights.”

Britain has close trade links to Bahrain, but as protests began sweeping the Gulf this year, London revoked licences for the export of some security equipment to the country fearing it might be used to suppress protests.