US and Western Allies must recognize and cease the role as enablers of al Khalifa regime of oppression

U.S. urges Bahrain to address ‘disturbing’ abuses
23 November, 2011 – By Arshad Mohammed and Caren Bohan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States urged its ally Bahrain, home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, to quickly address abuses laid out in a report Wednesday that said Bahraini security forces used torture to obtain confessions.

A Bahraini government-commissioned panel charged with investigating abuses found that Bahrain’s security forces used excessive force to suppress pro-democracy protests this year, saying five people were tortured to death.

The United States, which has been faulted by rights activists for not criticizing the island kingdom more sharply for the crackdown, appeared to carefully balance its demand for the abuses to be addressed with praise for its Gulf ally.

“We are deeply concerned about the abuses identified in the report and urge the Government and all elements of Bahraini society to address them in a prompt and systematic manner,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

“We believe the … report offers a historic opportunity for all Bahrainis to participate in a healing process that will address long-standing grievances and move the nation onto a path of genuine, sustained reform,” Clinton added.

Neither Clinton’s statement, nor one from the White House, hinted at any distance between the Obama administration and the royal family that rules Bahrain, although Washington has said it will weigh human rights in decisions about military sales.

Clinton made a point of stressing the “strategic interests” that the two countries share, a likely reference to containing Bahrain’s neighbor Iran, which the United States suspects of pursuing nuclear weapons and accuses of supporting terrorism. …more