Clinton seizes opportuntiy for Public Relations “shout out” for Nabeel Rajab – ignores thousands of others in Bahrain, while State Department’s hand picked policing expert “Black Jack” Timoney, takes charge of torture and brutality training for regime

State Department stands up for Bahraini human rights activist
By Josh Rogin – 9 January, 2012 – Foreign Policy

The State Department issued a statement over the weekend on behalf of Nabeel Rajab, a leading Bahraini human rights activist who was beaten by government forces in the capital of Manama last week.

Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was hospitalized on Jan. 6 after police attacked a group of peaceful protesters, a video of which can be seen here. Bahrain’s

Interior Ministry released its own video which it claims shows police helping Rajab into an ambulance after being tear-gassed. Photos of Rajab in the hospital showed injuries to his head, neck, and chest.

“The United States is deeply concerned by continuing incidents of violence in Bahrain between police and demonstrators,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement on Jan. 7, explaining that U.S. Embassy officials met with Rajab and spoke with government officials about the incident.

“While the facts surrounding the violence that transpired remain in dispute, we strongly urge the Government of Bahrain to undertake a full investigation to determine if excessive force was employed by police. In general we urge all demonstrators to refrain from acts of violence and for police and security forces also to avoid excessive use of force,” she said.

The Obama administration has been walking a tightrope with respect to its stance on the persistent protests in Bahrain. The country, which is home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, is a U.S. ally in the Persian Gulf, near Iran. The United States is planning to sell a new $53 million arms package to Bahrain, including armored Humvees — which activists claim have been used in crackdowns on civilians. The sale is delayed pending government action to implement the recommendations of a Bahraini commission that recently reported several human rights violations by the regime of King. …more