Relations between Bahrain and the United States have come under increasing strain amid the Shi’ite revolt in the Gulf Cooperation Council kingdom, a report said.
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy said that Bahraini leaders were expressing dismay over what they determined was Washington’s failure to support Manama in the campaign against Shi’ites backed by Iran. The institute cited veiled criticism of the administration of President Barack Obama during the Manama Dialogue in early December.
The United States sees political reform as compatible with maintaining the historical security relationship, while the royal family views Shi’ite leaders with suspicion, believing they are too sympathetic to Iran and determined to change the political status quo,” the report said.
Titled “U.S. Differences with Bahrain Playing Out in Public,” author Simon Henderson said U.S. diplomats were stunned by an address by Bahraini Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa to the Manama Dialogue. Salman, long regarded by Washington as the leading lobbyist for reform, failed to mention the United States in the kingdom’s list of allies. Bahrain has hosted the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet for the last 40 years. Instead, the crown prince addressed unidentified countries that criticized Bahrain’s leadership....
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