While this New York Times article is mainly about U.S-Saudi relations being strained by, among other things, Saudi Arabia’s decision to send troops into Bahrain, it fails to mention that the Fifth Fleet of the U.S. Navy is docked in Manama, Bahrain. And the Fifth Fleet is kind of important. It protects Iraqi ports, conducts anti-mining operations, patrols the Persian Gulf (including the Straits of Hormuz) and the Red Sea, and conducts anti-pirate missions off the coast of Somalia. It can also support flight missions in Iraq.
The population of Bahrain is heavily Shi’a but they’ve lived under a Sunni monarchy (or emirate) for 200 years. It appears that the people are tired of it. The way it is shaking out is that both the Saudis and the Iranians see what is going on in Bahrain as essentially a battle between themselves. That may not be how the Bahraini protesters see things, but Saudi Arabia’s decision to send in troops speaks for itself. Meanwhile:
…The entrance of foreign forces, including Saudi troops and those from other Persian Gulf countries, threatened to escalate a local political conflict into a regional showdown; on Tuesday, Tehran , which has long claimed that Bahrain is historically a part of Iran, branded the move “unacceptable.”
…“The presence of foreign forces and interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs is unacceptable and will further complicate the issue,” Ramin Mehmanparast, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman told a news conference in Tehran, according to state-run media.
It would be nice to support democracy everywhere, all the time, with no exceptions, and to never have to do business with monarchs or dictators. However, our previous decisions have created certain needs and obligations. The Saudis are pissed off at Obama for abandoning Hosni Mubarak and they’re not about to let us abandon King Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa. We’d be wise to look the other way on this one, while obviously calling for restraint and the protection of peaceful protesters.
Obama has a lot on his plate right now. Too much, in my estimation. I have been arguing as persuasively as I can for him not to add Libya to our responsibilities. Egypt, Iraq, and the home of our Fifth Fleet are providing enough drama at the moment. Dealing with Iran, trying to manage the Israel/Palestine conflict, and the poor health of both the Saudi king and his crown prince (and a possible succession fight)…
Then there’s the situation in Yemen.
And now Japan. And the budget. And Republicans trying to shut the government down.
We can’t do everything. We must try to keep things as simple as possible at a time like this.
And just for perspective, if, say, McCain had won the election and then had a fatal stroke or something…how do you think Palin would be handling these challenges? Hell, what if McCain didn’t die? How screwed would we all be then?
