Nation of Bahrain proven to be most brutal in Middle East

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In Bahrain, at least four people were killed when protesters clashed with security forces near the capital's Pearl Square, CNN reported, citing witnesses. The Associated Press reported that at least 50 people were injured after soldiers opened fire on protesters and that some of the victims were being treated for gunshot wounds at the main hospital. The U.S. Embassy was put on lockdown due to the protests, The State Department said.

At least one helicopter opened fire on the fleeing protesters and then at a Western reporter, The New York Times said.

Shiite cleric Sheik Isa Qassim spoke of Thursday's violence at prayers today, referring to the security forces' crackdown in the capital Manama as a "massacre" that aimed to quash free speech.

"The people were lying down peacefully, spending a calm night at the Pearl Roundabout under an open sky. Men, women, children and babies, all have been brutally attacked in a way to prevent escape and to inflict maximum suffering," the sheik said, according to CNN.

"This massacre makes it clear that the government in Bahrain is the most brutal among the governments of the Arab world," he added.

Why did I specifically point out Bahrain when there were other nations mentioned in this article? Well while I encourage you to read every part of this article I wanted to point out to you that it is the American ally, and strategic ally, Bahrain, which is the most violent and oppressive of all Middle East dictatorships. Worse than Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Iran, Libya, and Algeria, however what most of you will see in the news articles is how violent Iran and Libya are.

Once again Western news outlets play favoritism. I am surprised this was even mentioned in the article by AOL. I am definitely thrilled they showed it but surprised nonetheless. Bahrain, a nation with vast oil wealth and the location of strategic important to the US military counter-balance to Iran, this nation is now the real hard-line tyrants of the Middle East and one of the most supported by the US.

I truly, truly, hope that our country stops befriending all these dictators and stops propping them up with tax payer dollars. The end result will be fomenting anger and hostility in the Arab world towards the United States, and justifiably so.

I wonder why Obama is so quite on this one. ( Couldent shut him up and his prune faced off sider Clinton on Egypt. ) Oh yeah might be because one of the US navy fleets is stationed there. And also how friendly they are to that country. Giving them money, Tax payers money. And giving all those royals there all the benefits of the elite.

Its not just the US it seems like most of western media is reporting it in a rather lacklustre way, whereas they cant get enough of the protests in Libya, which have not really even spread to the capital yet. Still the brutality currently being shown in Bahrain would be utterly condemned if it was not a country who was linked the US in some way.

Originally posted by aarys
I wonder why Obama is so quite on this one. ( Couldent shut him up and his prune faced off sider Clinton on Egypt. ) Oh yeah might be because one of the US navy fleets is stationed there. And also how friendly they are to that country. Giving them money, Tax payers money. And giving all those royals there all the benefits of the elite.

Exactly. And one of the biggest navy and other huge equipments. Collapse of Bahrain is disaster for US. Iran might intervene in any moment too. Very hard times are coming, for everyone.

Not only that, it was the British that trained and equipped the Bahraini police department.

How Britain taught Arab police forces all they know

There was growing anger last night over the enmeshed relationship between authoritarian Gulf governments and the British military and police after weeks of democracy protests across the Arab world that met with violent state repression.

As demonstrators in Bahrain and Libya attended funerals and faced armed soldiers yesterday, campaign groups called on the Government to re-evaluate whether Britain should be so heavily involved in the training of Arab police and the military.

In the past two years, British police have helped to train their counterparts in Bahrain, Libya, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia through schemes run by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), which organises overseas training. At present, there are three full-time advisers working with the Bahraini police, which was heavily implicated in the violent crackdown on protests in Manama this week.

British Arms, Police Equipment Exports To Bahrain Under Review

Britain has ordered an urgent review of arms sales to Bahrain in the wake of Manama's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters there, reports said on Friday.

Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt told reporters in London that the review would also include several rounds of tear gas cartridges and other riot control equipment which had been cleared for export to Bahrain.

Licenses granted for their exports face the prospect of being urgently revoked if they are found to have contravened European Union (EU) and British guidelines. "We will not authorize any exports which we assess might provoke or prolong regional or internal conflicts, which might be used to facilitate internal repression, or which would in any other way be contrary to the criteria," Burt said.

Equipping police departments with state-of-the-art riot control technology and using them against peaceful demonstrators is a sign of a police state, with dictatorships using them to facilitate political repression.

And they ask why they hate america. Obama needs to prepare a new foreign policy pronto, he needs to step up and show the people around the world that America stands beside the people not the dictators.

I recently read in British Newspaper, that Queen Elizabetth II has invited the King of Bahrain to the wedding of her Grandson, not only is the British monarchy a vast waste of public money, but public money will also now be spent on providing security for a brutal foreign dictator, simply because he has been invited by the UKs own unelected Head Of State.