“When Jefferson expanded our consular posts precisely to promote trade, he never could have imagined the importance today. Or the role our diplomats play, screening potential security threats and taking them off the radar screen before they ever reach your consciousness, potentially in the worst ways.” United States Secretary of State, John Kerry – 20 February, 2013 …full text HERE

And are these the threats you have eliminated and hidden from the AMERICAN CONCIOUSNESS President Obama?

Bahrain’s PR Campaign Is Doomed to Fail
By John Lubbock – Vice – 21 February, 2013

Hey, do you happen to be the proprietor of a family-run dictatorship in the Middle East? Tired of seeing stories about your country that are all “Bahrain Princess Accused of Torture” and “Teenager Killed in Bahrain Anniversary Protests” and “The US Sold a Bunch of Weapons to Bahrain During Its Brutal Crackdown” and even “King of Bahrain Beats Up Arab Pop Star on a Yacht”? That sure is some bad “optics,” as they say in the business, and you probably can’t repair your reputation solely through articles titled “Bahrain a Land of tolerance…” in government-run media outlets, especially when that ellipsis might be an indication that even the “journalists” on your payroll can barely believe the shit they’re writing.

One way to solve your image problem would be to welcome reform and stop committing gross human rights violations—haha, just kidding! Clearly that’s not on the table, so you need to spend millions on PR and invite journalists to your brand new Formula 1 racetrack to see how lovely it is. According to Bahrain Watch, that’s what the country’s regime has been doing: it’s spent at least $32 million on image management since the start of the Arab Spring. I’m familiar with this because one of these companies threatened to sue the Guardian for libel after I wrote an article with Nabeel Rajab which accused the Bahraini security forces of torturing employees at the F1 track. The PR firm did not question that torture had taken place, just that it had not happened on the premises of the F1 track. The libel threat was eventually withdrawn after a footnote was added to the article, but the point was made: we have money, and we will bully and threaten you if you criticize us.

I was at an interesting meeting the other day at a London-based think tank, where a Bahrain-regime spokesperson earnestly told me that there was no point spending money on PR to make Bahrain look good anymore, as everybody knows about the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report confirming that torture was widespread and systematic in Bahrain during the uprising. Funny then, that the regime seems to continue to employ a bunch of firms to do PR work for them. In fact, a number of individuals and groups giving evidence to the UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee inquiry on the UK’s relationship with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are known affiliates of the Bahraini regime—including retired general Sir Graeme Lamb, who is employed by G3, one of the biggest firms currently working to boost Bahrain’s reputation, but failed to mention that association in the evidence he presented to the committee. …more

A Sandhurst tribute to the fallen of a First World War battle has been abandoned so a donation from the King of Bahrain can be honoured.

Row over renaming of Sandhurst hall after Bahrain donation
UK Telegraph – By Tom Whitehead, Security Editor – 17 February, 2013

Mons Hall, named after the 1914 battle that saw thousands killed, will be renamed the King Hamad Hall after he gave £3 million towards its refurbishment.

Defence chiefs were accused of betraying the memory of soldiers who gave their lives for their country.

MPs also questioned the ethics of honouring regimes that have dubious human rights records.

It emerged an accommodation block at the Army officer training academy has also been named after the first president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following a £15 million donation from the country.

Andy Slaughter, Labour’s chairman of the Democracy In Bahrain all-party parliamentary group, said: “To change the name of something which commemorates a very tragic episode in British military history and an example of courage and heroism of British soldiers simply because they’re getting a sum of money from a rather dubious source is appalling.

“It reflects the appalling double standards the British Government and institutions have in relation to the Bahraini regime, which is guilty of all sorts of human rights abuses and fundamentally undemocratic.”

The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War.

Facing overwhelming odds from a far larger German force, more than 1,600 British soldiers were killed along with more than 5,000 Germans.

It gave its name to a sports hall at Sandhurst but the title will now be dropped when it is reopened next month following a refit.

King Hamad, who is Patron of the Sandhurst Foundation – a forum for former officer cadets – has been invited to the reopening but is still to make a decision. …more

Riot police attack Bahrain protest
21 February, 2013 – Al Akhbar

Riot police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds who had gathered in Bahrain’s western coastal town of Malkiya on Thursday to mark the two-year anniversary of the death of a young activist, witnesses reported on Twitter.

Police attacked marchers as they carried Bahraini flags and portraits of Abdulredha Buhmaid who was shot in the head on 19 February 2011 during an anti-government rally in the capital Manama. He succumbed to his wounds two days later.

Protesters in the northern isle of Sitra also held a march to mark the anniversary of the killing where they chanted anti-government slogans.

Separately Thursday evening, activists staged a spontaneous march through downtown Manama demanding the release of jailed rights activist Nabeel Rajab. …source

Rajab before arrest and trial on bogus charges. Sentenced to Prison for Three Years