US navy stays in dictatorial Bahrain

This video is called Bahraini medics recount hospital horror.

From the Huffington Post in the USA:

Navy Staying in Bahrain, State Department Says

7/21/11 06:04 PM ET

WASHINGTON — American officials are denying press reports that the Navy’s Fifth Fleet, based in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, was considering a move out of the strife-ridden port.

“We are aware of these reports, which do not reflect the views of either the departments of State or Defense,” a State Department official told The Huffington Post.

“Diplomatically, we regard Bahrain as an important partner, while the U.S. Navy has a long-standing relationship of more than 60 years with Bahrain, which is a vital member of our Combined Maritime Forces, supporting regional maritime security and stability.”

The latest report, which appeared Thursday in The Australian, contends that officials in Washington had grown increasingly wary of the Kingdom’s recent crackdown on anti-government protesters, and was looking for a new home for the fleet.

The Fifth Fleet is the Navy’s central presence in the Middle East, and it stands guard over vital waterways between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. …

Speculation that the Navy might move the Fleet dates back to this spring’s anti-government protests in Manama, Bahrain‘s capital. Observers have suggested that the Fifth Fleet’s presence in Bahrain has impeded the Obama administration’s ability to take a hard line with the regime.

In contrast to its response to the popular uprisings in Syria and Egypt, the administration has pursued a more gentle approach of engagement in the Gulf, with Obama hosting Bahrain’s crown prince at the White House just last month.

Well, on Egyptian dictator Mubarak, US Vice President Joe Biden denied that he was a dictator. That sounds similar to the line on the Bahrain royal dictatorship, and different from the line on Syria.

Proposed Saudi anti-terror law would strangle peaceful protest: here.

We want the UK Government to stop arming corrupt regimes: here.

Rape claim hits scandal-prone Australian Navy: here.

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