U.S. worried overShi'ite unrest in host port for Fifth Fleet
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military is closely monitoring Bahrain's crackdown against the Shi'iteopposition.
Analysts and diplomats said the Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom was facing increasing resistance from Shi'ite elements linked to neighboring Iran.
"The street violence and other incidents are of particular concern to the United States because Bahrain hosts the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet and Naval Forces Central Command, whose mission is to 'deter and counter disruptive countries' — a wording likely aimed at Iran, which claimed the island as its territory prior to 1970," Simon Henderson, a leading analyst on the Gulf, said.
Henderson, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, cited the arrest of hundreds of Shi'ite opposition members in Bahrain in August and September 2010. He said the arrests were meant to stop a Shi'ite opposition victory in parliamentary and municipal elections on Oct. 23.
The State Department and the U.S. military have lowered their profile in Bahrain during the rising unrest. The U.S. embassy has warned Americans against attending demonstrations or walking through central Manama.
The rising violence in Bahrain has been attributed partly to the kingdom's pro-Sunni policy. The analysts said Bahrain, located 230 kilometers from Iran, has shunned its Shi'ite majority while encouraging Sunnis from Iraq and Syria to settle in the GCC state and work in security.
"The government seems to regard them as untrustworthy, excluding them from military and police recruitment efforts," the institute in a report titled "Iran's Shadow over Unrest in Bahrain," said. "Shi'ites are particularly resentful over the alleged hiring of security forces from abroad, who tend to deal with demonstrators more harshly than native Bahrainis might. These foreign Sunni recruits are also fast-tracked for citizenship, reducing the numerical dominance of Bahraini Shi'ites."
Most GCC states were said to support Bahrain's crackdown on the Shi'ites. The analysts and officials cited Saudi Arabia, which has been concerned over its own restive Shi'ite minority in the oil-rich Eastern Province. In contrast, Qatar has withheld support from Manama.
The U.S. Navy, which faced severe anti-American violence in 2002 and 2003, has been expanding its presence in Bahrain. The presence included the expansion of the navy's Fifth Fleet outsideManama, a host for Western military aircraft and other regional missions.
"Because Washington's main regional concern is persuading Iran to give up its nuclear weapon ambitions, working with Gulf allies such as Bahrain remains a priority," the report said. "Given the current unrest and past outbursts of violent anti-American protests Washington should not takeBahrain's usual tranquility for granted. Going forward, it should offer quiet advice to help Manamacalm the ongoing tension and avoid escalation. After all, the latter scenario could turn the island's concerns about Iranian interference into a self-fulfilling prophecy."
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