Why Bahrain Is Not Syria - by Pepe Escobar
http://dissidentvoice.org/2012/02/why-bahrain-is-not-syria/
"...So just to recap, US President Barack Obama told Syria's President Bashar al Assad to 'step aside and allow a democratic transition to proceed immediately,' while King Hamas al-Khalifa gets new toys to crack down on his subversively pro-democratic subjects..."
Bahrain: Morality Does Not Rule in Washington - Analyst (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/230899.html
"Bahrainis have held a mass anti-government demonstration outside the capital, Manama, to demand an end to the rule of the Khalifa dynasty"
... You guys want a Milligan?
'United States Chooses Silence on Bahrain Crisis' (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/235083.html
"In Bahrain, thousands of protesters have come out to the streets calling for the release of prominent human rights activist Abdulhadi al Khawaja. Al Khawaja has been on a hunger strike for nearly two months. The deterioration of his health has caused a national and international outcry."
Not in Canada of course, where there is seldom an 'outcry' over anything.
Bahrainis Continue Opposition to Achieve Peaceful Demands (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/235067.html
"Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al Khawaja has entered his 58th day of a hunger strike in detention as protests for his release continue.."
US Backs Al Khalifa's Brutal Crimes in Bahrain (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/236059.html
"Abdulhadi al Khawaja has spent more than 60 days on hunger strike in a Bahraini prison. The regime is resisting calls for immediate release by international human rights groups."
panel discussion of the issues in Bahrain
Bahrain Arrests Main Human Rights Activist Nabeel Rajab (and vid)
http://rt.com/news/bahrain-arrest-nabeel-rajab-673/
"Bahraini authorities have arrested Nabeel Rajab, rights activist and foremost critic of the Al Khalifa regime, as they continue their brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters. It comes after he was interviewed on Julian Assange's 'The World Tomorrow'..The fourth episode of Julian Assange's show featuring Rajab and Egyptian activist Alaq Abd El-Fattah will be aired on RT on Tuesday at 11:30 GMT
Saudi Merger Plan With Bahrain Similar to Hitler's Anschluss: Analyst (and vid)
http://presstv.com/detail/2012/05/13/241069/saudi-merger-bahrain-hitler-...
"The big difference is that the majority of people in Austria supported that, whereas today, the vast majority of people in Bahrain will be horrified to be occupied by and digested into Wahabbi Saudi Arabia,' Barrett added. 'I think the Saudis are trying to keep the lid on protests in the region and they are trying to strengthen their position in Bahrain which they already invaded last year.'
Members of the [Persian] Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, are expected to meet and discuss closer union among the six countries on May 14.."
Bahraini Court to Try 11 - Year - Old Boy
http://presstv.com/detail/2012/06/12/245746/bahraini-court-to-try-11year...
"A Bahraini court will try an eleven year old boy for what the Manama regime claims was 'disturbing security' while being out on the street. The trial of Ali Hasan was adjourned to June 20, a lawyer familiar with his case said on Monday.."
World Silence Encourages Al Khalifa To Continue Brutal Crackdown (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/27/248237/al-khalifa-continues-brut...
"Bahraini protesters have once again held demonstrations against the Al Khalifa regime in several villages across the country.."
Remember Bahrain Canada? It hasn't gone away..its people still ask for help...
Sorry, but it's all about Egypt today and how the U.S.-backed military dictatorship there is to allow theocrats to share power with them. Uncle Sam and his colonial outposts are very progressive nowadays. Meanwhile...
Bahrain: Campaign to arrest Alkhalifa dictator's torturer son as repression intensifies
Funnily enough distractions with US-Qa'eda terror are conspicuously absent in Bahrain where a U.S.-backed imperialist dictatorship is in firm control of the western-backed counterrevolution against ordinary Bahrainis receiving little sympathy or mention from lapdog newz media.
Police Raids Arrest Bahrainian Doctors After 'Show Trial'
http://rt.com/news/bahrain-doctors-jailed-raid-484/
"Bahraini police have arrested six doctors over their treatment of anti-government protesters following an unsuccessful court appeal. Analyst groups have decried the 'farcical trial' and the death of a prisoner of conscience in custody..."
No western sanctions or 'humanitarian intervention' in Bahrain. Wonder why...?
No western sanctions or 'humanitarian intervention' in Bahrain. Wonder why...?
Because we need a market for our Canadian companies' products? Does anyone know whether they have signed a new collective agreement for the Stryker plant? Have those CAW workers been forced to take concessions?
I'd be more inclined to say that Bahrain isn't of current military or economic importance enough for the West (aka the US) to spread its military operations, as expensive as they are, to intervene.
Most of the West has two models of foreign affairs - the "Enemy of my enemy is my friend" model and the "What's in it for me" model.
Bahrain fits into neither of the two.
I'd be more inclined to say that Bahrain isn't of current military or economic importance enough for the West (aka the US) to spread its military operations, as expensive as they are, to intervene. Most of the West has two models of foreign affairs - the "Enemy of my enemy is my friend" model and the "What's in it for me" model. Bahrain fits into neither of the two.
American interests in Bahrain are vast, expensive and strategic. While an American embassy opened in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, in 1971, relations between the two countries date back to 1958, when the U.S. Navy first established a presence in Bahrain. Those relations grew significantly during Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm--the 1991 American-led counter-attack on Iraq after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait--and after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the Bush administration’s invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Unlike most Arab nations, Bahrain allowed the Pentagon to fly combat missions from its territory during those wars.
The 20-some ships of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet--a fleet representing tens of billions of dollars--are based there, with responsibility for 7.5 million square miles of seas from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea to the Gulf of Oman. Some 2,300 American personnel are stationed on the Fifth Fleet headquarters’ 100-acre base, and thousands of the fleet’s 15,000 sailors land in Bahrain on and off throughout the year.
The Pentagon requested $258 million in fiscal year 2011 to build several additional facilities on its base there, including $45 million for an expansion at Shaykh Isa Air Base.
Bahrain’s strategic value to the United States is the result of geography: Bahrain is a naval complement to Qatar’s peninsular thumb sticking up the midsection of the Persian Gulf, across from Iran, providing quick access to the gulf’s sea lanes and protecting the disgorging oil pipelines of Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and, further south, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
http://middleeast.about.com/od/bahrain/a/American-Interests-In-Bahrain.htm
It seems to me that it must fit into some category of US interest. By the way I posted the picture of the Stryker because when the Saudi army crossed over to put down the popular uprising it was Canadian made anti-democracy machines that rolled into the capital city.
Obama does not support the resistance in Bahrain because it is a threat to the one of the most critical US bases in the world. That is the most logical explanation.
In the meantime this US/Saudi protectorate continues to crush all opposition by even imprisoning humanitarian aid providers. Strangely no Duty to Protect arises when the population of a country is being terrorized by a NATO ally.
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 3 2012 (IPS) - Human rights groups reacted with condemnation following a ruling by Bahrain’s highest court Monday rejecting the last appeals and upholding the convictions of nine medics for their role in the 2011 uprising in the capital Manama.
“Large numbers of Bahrainis have aired their criticisms of the government through peaceful protests. While some protesters have used violence, the overarching climate has been one of nonviolent criticism of the government of Bahrain,” Sanjeev Bery, Amnesty International USA advocacy director for Middle East/North Africa affairs, told IPS.
“Unfortunately, the government of Bahrain has responded with torture, violence, and arrests. It is time for Bahraini government officials to stop attempting to silence political speech through the repression of the state,” he said. The medics were arrested after tending to wounded pro-democracy protesters.
The upheld sentences, announced in mid-June of this year, range from one month to five years in prison. The verdict includes plotting to overthrow the monarchy and gathering illegally, charges that have been strongly denounced by many human rights groups, which said the rulings “violate basic rights such as free assembly” and dismissed them as politically aimed.
“It’s a black day for Bahrain when it imprisons physicians and other medical professionals whose only ‘crime’ was to carry out their ethical duty to care for sick and wounded people,” Richard Sollom, Physicians for Human Rights’ deputy director, said in a statement Tuesday.
“Sadly, these medics have now joined the ranks of other prisoners of conscience unjustly locked up in Bahrain and elsewhere around the world.”
...
The 2011 Bahraini uprising was quashed with help from Saudi Arabia, a Sunni majority kingdom that is sympathetic to the ruling Sunni minority of Bahrain.
Seventy percent of the Kingdom of Bahrain consists of Shi’ite Muslims, who have been marginalised by the minority Sunni regime. The uprising was inspired by Egyptian and Tunisian rebel victories, yet it was the only Arab uprising that was successfully quashed through governmental tactical force.
The degree of that force is considered excessive by many human rights organisations and by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon himself.
An investigation by Physicians for Human Rights describes Bahrain’s extreme and unprecedented approach to the use of tear gas as a means of crowd control, which it said caused an increase in miscarriages, respiratory complications, and other illnesses among the Shi’ite population. Thousands have been wounded during the uprising, though the exact number is impossible to determine, as citizens fear to take refuge in hospitals after the raids and arrests of doctors and protesters.
http://www.vob.org/en/index.php?show=news&action=article&id=1872
King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa should do well in the voting for hypocrite of the year.
AMMAN — Jordan and Bahrain on Monday reaffirmed the need to boost bilateral ties, voicing concern over the ongoing bloodshed in Syria.
His Majesty King Abdullah yesterday met with Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Issa Al Khalifa and discussed bilateral relations and the latest developments in Syria, a Royal Court statement said.
The two leaders highlighted the “deep ties” between their countries and agreed on enhancing them to serve the best interests of Jordan and Bahrain.
They also expressed concern over the situation in Syria, as the fighting rages on with no political solution available so far to end the crisis and maintain Syria’s unity and sovereignty.
Canada is up to its neck in the blood already shed in Bahrain. Our navy has been using it as a home away from home port since the first Gulf War. I wish progressives in this country would pay attention to what we are actually doing in the Middle East. Canada and its NATO allies already hve troops in Bahrain that could be providing logistic and communications support to the rebels. That is one of Canada's key areas of expertise in its NATO role. So why aren't we supporting the resistance to a brutal hereditary dictator?
Why is the OO NDP not pushing the government to take a tougher stance with the brutal regime? This is a ongoing NATO operation and since the NDP refuses to talk about Canada's role in NATO it cannot raise the issue either. It would not be befitting a party that supports the imperial military alliance to call for the expulsion of the Ambassador while the King is hosting our navy.
Bahrain proves the point that NATO interventions in sovereign states is merely imperialism with a new name. Unfortunately many progressives can't take the time to inform themselves on the issues and end up cheering for interventions that inevitably lead to massive civilian death and injury and displacement by the tens of thousands followed at least decades of chaos.
Canada is one of 26 nations that contributes naval assets to Combined Maritime Forces, the naval coalition that promotes security and stability in the international waters of the Middle East. This area comprises some of the world’s most important shipping lanes.
Combined Maritime Forces was formed in February 2002 as the coalition headquarters responsible for coordinating and leading naval participation in the international campaign against terrorism. Over the years, its mandate expanded to include counter-piracy operations as part of international efforts to ensure security in the maritime environment of the greater Middle East.
Combined Maritime Forces has its headquarters in Bahrain. It is commanded by the U.S. Navy vice-admiral who is also the commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central (NAVCENT) and the United States Fifth Fleet, both also headquartered in Bahrain. Its deputy commander is a British commodore from the Royal Navy. Canadian Forces staff and liaison officers serve at Combined Maritime Forces Headquarters under Operation FOUNDATION.
http://www.comfec-cefcom.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/artemis/index-eng.asp
This too could be a civil war if only NATO or some one else would upgrade the rocks and Molotov cocktails to machine guns and light artillery like in Libya or Syria. Seems the Bahraini are like the Palestinians when it comes to their fight against brutal dictatorships. They get lip service from Western progressives and the imperial sanctioned protestors get armed to the teeth to fight evil hereditary regimes.
The above was sarcasm. I actually believe that we should not be interfering in the internal affairs of any of these countries except by moral suasion. However as an integral part of the imperial war machine we have lost any ability to apply moral suasion on other countries who violate peoples rights. Our navy is stationed in Bahrain so how can we complain about the government? That is the real equation in global politics.
The House of Commons attacks Iran and Syria and Libya but not its brutal NATO allies like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel. What is the point of political parties if they all support NATO imperialism?
Despite that crackdown and two months of martial law that followed, clashes between police and protesters still occur almost daily in Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based. On Friday, a 17-year-old died in a confrontation with riot police.
The protesters, mainly from the Shi'ite majority, had demanded a bigger role for elected representatives and less power for the ruling al-Khalifa family, who are Sunni Muslims. Some Shi'ite groups sought an end to the monarchy.
Shi'ites complain of discrimination in the electoral system, jobs, housing, education and government departments including the police and army. They say government assertions that it is addressing those concerns have produced no action.
A commission of international legal experts reported in November that torture had been systematically used on protesters to punish and extract hundreds of confessions. Among its many recommendations were reviewing activists' jail sentences.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-10-02/news/sns-rt-us-bahrain-pro...
I agree with above remarks!
Leave it to our Canadian MSM to not report the real facts. Our Canadian Navy is stationed there as part of a NATO contingent under the control of the US Fifth Fleet command structure. Our troops being stationed there is not even worth mentioning in this piece.
This kind of yellow journalism leads to a political culture where no party from the Conservatives to the NDP wants to talk about our complicity in the ongoing imperial war in the Middle East. Hell even on this site most people would still use the old canard that Canada did not participate in the invasion of Iraq.
What is it about Syrians and Iranians, countries that conduct elections under constitutions and get higher turn outs than in North America, that makes them worse than this Absolute Monarch. It can't be the torture and killing of civilians since that is something the Bahrani King has in common with Syria and Iran and the USA, so what is it.
I think Canadians including many on the left are willfully blind to the imperial reality we live in and prefer to just say it is of no real importance to us as citizens or alternatively that maybe sending troops into Bahrain would just spread NATO to thin and thus that is the reason for the silence from the US and its NATO based political allies like the NDP. Even babblers don't seem to want to do even the smallest amount of research and critical analysis before dismissing the democracy protests in Bahrain as irrelevant.
The Duty to Protect war hawks from the NDP who post regularly on babble and led the cheering for bombing Libya and are cheering on the terrorists in Syria are strangely silent as well. As it is one of the places with lots of NATO troops already it would be easy to intervene and straighten out this hereditary dictator.
But I guess it is of no strategic interest to Canada thus justifying the NDP's silence over this struggle for democracy. None so blind as those that refuse to see.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Riot police in Bahrain used water cannons and tear gas on Friday to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters trying to reach a heavily guarded site that was once the hub of their uprising.
...
Bahrain's majority Shiites seek greater rights in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. At least 50 people have died in nearly 20 months of unrest.
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Bahrain+police+protesters+clash+near+sym...
Like NDPP, I'm inclined to agree with much of what you state kropotkin. Cost-benefit analysis drives US foreign policy, but it's the studied optics that are most disgusting. Canada's complicity in the West's treatment of former British "colonies" in the MidEast is so very much ignored by mainstream media. Not at all surprising, but dismal all the same
The Duty to Protect war hawks from the NDP who post regularly on babble and led the cheering for bombing Libya...
I'm an NDPer, and I never cheered for the bombing of Libya. And the truth is that the official opposition party in Ottawa voted for a no fly zone, which the Gladio Gang promptly violated themselves when bombing Libya. In fact, there was never any Parliamentary vote to decide on bombing Libya - our lapdogs in Federal Government have no seat on the UN Security Council. That means the Harpers are just vicious toadies following Uncle Sam's instructions and nothing more.
You give far too much credit to the Harpers and the official opposition NDP. But we know your hit and run style by now jts.
As it is one of the places with lots of NATO troops already it would be easy to intervene and straighten out this hereditary dictator.
Assad is still more popular among Syrians than our corrupt stooges in government are with Canadians.
]But I guess it is of no strategic interest to Canada thus justifying the NDP's silence over this struggle for democracy. None so blind as those that refuse to see.
Canada's is not a modern democracy, either. The NDP has a lot on their plate from now to 2015 in trying to introduce a modicum of transparency and accountability and modern voting system at the national level. It's an unfair system in Canada still. No one said it would be a fair fight, and the NDP must play and win this seedy game of fptp regardless of whether or not these ReformaTories can ever buy a seat on the Securty Council. Harper is seen by international diplomats as a weak leader with a phony majority and still governing like he has a minority with the NDP breathing down his neck. I think North American right-rightists in NATO and UNSC nixed Canada's application for membership on purpose because they realize Harper won't be there to stooge it up for them after the federal election in 2015. And so the Gladio Gang will probably want to avoid an NDP Government in Ottawa undermining their solidarity to attack other countries militarily. They know that the Chretiens and Martins and Harpers are all bought and paid-for stooges, whereas the NDP are an unknown quantity.
Successive federal governments' roles in Ottawa is that of colonial administrativeships to a vicious empire based in Washington and nothing more, so don't try to plant thoughts in our minds that the Harpers are anything but. They just follow orders when it comes to abiding by Warshington's instructions, like when your friends in Social Credit governments handed the US corporatocracy the sweetheart Columbia River power deal. I think Syria and Bahrain are more complicated than meets the eye and all, but that probably won't stop you from blaming NDPers for everything wrong under the sun.
Got a citation for this gem.
Harper is seen by international diplomats as a weak leader with a phony majority and still governing like he has a minority with the NDP breathing down his neck.
Here is what parliament did in Libya. Sorry Fidel but the bombing started in March and in June the OO was still in support of the RCAF.
In March, parliamentarians voted unanimously on a non-binding motion in support of a three-month contribution to NATO’s air mission, based in Trapani, Italy. They voted in favour of extending the 650-person mission by another three months in June.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/09/26/pol-libya-mission-extensi...
If you read above I referred to the war hawks in the NDP and I don't include you in that crowd. However you are a minority in the party and the brass does not share your views.
The CBC piece doesn't mention that the June vote wasn't unanimous, the NDP and Liberals again voted lockstep with the Cons, but at least Elizabeth May of the Green Party voted against it.
But I don't have high hopes that such activities will be repeated on her part, as she has recently channeled neocon ultra-hawk Terry Glavin who also lives in the Victoria area.
If his influence prevails, she can forget about eating the NDP's lunch on the progressive side.
Ex-CNN Reporter: US Media Forcing American Public to Approve a War With Iran (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/10/08/265527/us-media-pushing-to-sell...
"...you're seeing these other stories like Bahrain being covered up and that has some of us worried that the public is being fed this propaganda in order to get the public to approve another conflict with Iran, and then you're not seeing equal coverage being given to the horrific human rights abuses happening in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.."
Crowd Control: Bahrain Bans All Public Gatherings
http://rt.com/news/bahrain-ban-demonstration-protest-554/
"Bahraini authorities have prohibited protest gatherings and rallies until further notice, a day after police cracked down heavily on demonstrations once again during the 20 month fatality riddled unrest. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Bin Abdullah Al Khalifa stressed that 'rallies and gatherings will be considred illegal and legal action taken [illegal ones too!] against anyone taking part in them..."
Surely John Baird will protest, as he has with Syria, these authoritarian, anti-democratic prohibitions...
The CBC piece doesn't mention that the June vote wasn't unanimous, the NDP and Liberals again voted lockstep with the Cons, but at least Elizabeth May of the Green Party voted against it.
There's no guarantee she wouldn't head down the same dead end street to sycophancy as the NDP if she were to begin attracting influence.
'Al Khalifa Ignores Protesters Demands' (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2012/10/31/269704/al-khalifa-ignores-prote...
"...The protesters say they will continue holding student demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government is met.."
US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/Program/288257.html
"What is the strategic importance of the US Fifth Fleet to the Americans and the Bahrainis? What effect does it have on neighboring countries?" Discussion with activists and analysts.
World Must Take Action Against Al Khalifa Crimes: Kamel Wazne (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/04/07/297074/world-must-condemn-bahra...
"Protesters in the island nation have been staging rallies in solidarity with political prisoners and against the upcoming Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix..."
Protests to:
Bahrain International Circuit Grand Prix 2013
Email: [email protected]
'There is blood on the tracks and anyone who drives over them, [or watches] will never be forgiven.' George Galloway MP
Baird's Silence on Abuses in Bahrain Exposes Canada's Inconsistency - by Roland Paris
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/bairds-silence-on-abuses-in-ba...
"Perhaps Mr Baird believed that he had good reasons - such as strengthening the commercial and strategic relationship between Canada and Bahrain - to avoid mentioning the country's human-rights record. Such calculations are the stuff of foreign policy, a domain in which competing imperatives are common. However when it co mes from a Canadian government that has repeatedly and sanctimoniously proclaimed that it will never 'go along to get along,' this silence is jarring..."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper: [email protected]
Foreign Affairs Critic Paul Dewar NDP: [email protected]
US Remains Silent on Atrocities in Bahrain: Colin Cavell (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/04/07/297048/us-chooses-oil-over-demo...
"An analyst says the United States has abandoned democracy and human rights it espouses in preference for oil and so protects atrocities committed by Bahrain. The international community, sheltered by the UK, US and an obedient Western media has attempted all the while to hide this tragedy of democracy from their own populations so that these Western government can continue business as usual with this brutal dictatorship."
And in February, 44 countries expressed their serious concerns regarding the human rights situation in Bahrain in a formal notice to the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights. The EU parliament had passed a similar, more detailed motion the month before. The signatory countries to the UN included France, Germany, the UK and USA (but not Canada, Russia, China, etc.)
Kinda buggers up the simplistic narrative about "imperial powers" holding off from criticizing their allies, though, doesn't it? (Ref thread title).
Lets see with one dictator they provide the opposition with arms and other goodies and help them import terrorists. With the other dictator they mouth platitudes and nothing changes in the country.
if you cant see the difference then your eyes must be glued shut. Propaganda is a major part of the tool kit for especially when it is for the consumption of gullible westerners.
By the way the Canadian navy is stationed there and has been since it fought in the Iraq war.
Damon Hill: Bahrain Should Not Hold Grand Prix..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/formulaone/9985233/Damon-Hil...
"The question is whether Formula One going to Bahrain woujld be creating or furthering brutal repression, by appearing to endorse the treatment being meted out..."
Bahrainis Use the F1 Race to Expose the Regime's Atrocities (and vid)
http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/04/21/299529/blood-dripping-from-al-k...
"An activist says the people will use the F1 race to publicize the rejection of the dictatorship and seek solidarity for democracy from the F1 world audience..."
for protest info see #79 above..
US Afraid of Regime Fall in Bahrain: Analyst (and vid)
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/10/28/331817/us-afraid-of-regime-fall-...
"A political commentator says Washington is afraid of a possible regime fall in Bahrain as the Persian Gulf country hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, Press TV reports.
On October 20, former CNN journalist Amber Lyon stated that the Manama regime is paying the American news network to ignore its brutal crackdown on peaceful protests across the kingdom and create content that shows Bahrain in a favorable light."
The whole imperial navy uses Bahrain not just the US itself. Of course the admiral in charge of Canada's navy in this Combined Maritme Unit is American.
CMF counters violent extremism and terrorist networks in maritime areas of responsibility; works with regional and other partners to improve overall security and stability; helps strengthen regional nations’ maritime capabilities and, when requested, responds to environmental and humanitarian crises.
- Comprised of three principle task forces: CTF-150 (maritime security and counter-terrorism), CTF-151 (counter piracy) and CTF-152 (Arabian Gulf security and cooperation).
- 29 member nations: Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, The Philippines, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, UAE, U.K. and U.S.
- Commanded by a U.S. Navy Vice Admiral, who also serves as Commander US Navy Central Command and US Navy Fifth Fleet. All three commands are co-located at US Naval Support Activity Bahrain.
- Deputy commander is a UK Royal Navy Commodore. Other senior staff roles at CMF headquarters are filled from personnel from member nations, including Australia, France, Italy and Denmark.
West Not Concerned About Bahraini, Saudi HR Records: Analyst (and vid)
http://presstv.com/detail/2014/04/20/359300/west-silent-on-bahrain-ksa-b...
"The West is more concerned about selling arms to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia than the two countries' appalling human rights records, an analyst tells Press TV. Chris Bambery stated that when Western statesmen visit Saudi Arabia they maintain silence about the country's human rights record.
'Obama will not be making any speeches about the human rights situation in Bahrain."
Nor Harper, Baird, Trudeau or Mulcair apparently..
Tortured and Silenced: Bahrain Activist Still Intent...(and vid)
http://rt.com/news/161540-bahrain-humanrights-rajab-torture/
"One of Bahrain's most prominent human rights activists has been released from prison after two years. Nabeel Rajab spoke exclusively to RT about his experiences, saying he was 'held in dire conditions and subjected to abuse.'..."
RT News - January 3, 2014 [1700 MSK and vid]
http://rt.com/bulletin-board/219555-rtnews-january-03-17msk/
"Anti-regime clashes between Bahrain - with police struggling to contain protesters angry at the Sunni monarchy for arresting a key opposition critic..."
Riot Police Disperse Anti-Govt Rally in Bahraini Capital (photos, video)
http://rt.com/news/219279-bahrain-clashes-opposition-leader/
"Clashes between riot police and demonstraters have erupted in Bahrain for the fifth day in a row..."
Hanukkah Celebration Highlights Bahrain-Israel Ties (and vid)
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/01/05/504895/Bahrain-Israel-us-Al-Khalifah...
"Bahrain has come under criticism from judicial activists for hosting an Israeli celebration in the capital Manama. American Jewish millionaire Lazer Scheiner, who organized the Hanukkah ceremony in Bahrain, is a prominent pro-Israel lobbyist in the US, representing an extreme type of anti-Islam mentality..."
