Bahrain kills 4 activists in 24 hrs: Pope Allies With Ayatollahs In Syria Mediation Effort

'Saudis modern gladiators serving US'
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Published on May 19, 2012 by RussiaToday

Demonstrations have taken center stage in the Gulf, where tens of thousands rallied in Iran and Bahrain against the latter's integration plans with Saudi Arabia. In Bahrain crowds chanted that their country was 'not for sale', while Tehran said the proposed deal was a plot aimed at wiping the entire state off the map.

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich, US independent researcher talks to RT. She says the United States has typically used Saudi Arabia similar to the Roman Empire used gladiators.

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LAST UPDATEThu, 26 Jan 2012 02:12:09 GMTA Bahraini police car runs over a protester in the town of Sitra south of the capital Manama, bringing the number of the opposition activists murdered at the hands of the regime over the past 24 hours to four, Press TV reports. The victim, identified as Muhammad Ali Ya'qhoub, died from the incident on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Saudi-backed Bahraini forcers tortured a protester to death. Saeed Fakher's body, which bore horrific signs of torture, was found one day after his arrest. On Tuesday, two other protesters died due to teargas inhalation during an anti-regime rally outside Manama. The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the sheikhdom's public, inspired by the popular revolutions that had toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive peaceful protests. The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the rallies and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring Persian Gulf states to assist the suppression campaign. Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries. A report published by an independent committee in November, 2011 found that the ruling Al Khalifa regime had used excessive force against the protesters and accused Manama of torturing political activists, politicians, and demonstrators.

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A Tale of Two Countries: Bahrain and Libya
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Published: 15 February, 2012, 00:10
Edited: 16 February, 2012, 12:17


Waving the newly adopted flag, members of the new Libyan military force under the ruling National Transitional Council parade along a main street in the Libyan capital Tripoli on February 14, 2012. (AFP Photo/Mahmud Turkia)
TRENDS: Egypt unrest Arab world protests

TAGS: Conflict, Military, Middle East, Protest, Politics, Opposition, Libya

Society-wide, violent social upheavals triggered throughout the Muslim World were dubbed an “Arab Spring” by the Western governments. But when comparing Libya and Bahrain, the full force of US and European double-standards becomes flagrantly evident.

A year ago, two Muslim countries – Bahrain and Libya – went into “Arab-Spring” mode. Revolt in Bahrain, a country aligned with Western interests, began February 14, 2011. The next day, a revolt followed by war and invasion was unleashed on Muammar Gaddafi’s Libya, a sovereign country not aligned with foreign interests.

The question here is: Why were Libya and its leadership so utterly overrun, bombed and murdered by the Western powers using the deceitful UN Resolution 1973 and NATO forces, while Bahrain was meted out soft treatment based on Western understanding, patience and goodwill?

First and foremost, both Bahrain and Libya literally float on OIL.Naturally, the UK, US and French governments – and the boys financing them at Exxon Mobil, Texaco, BP, Shell, Total, ENI, Elf, Chevron – will swear time and again that oil has nothing to do with all of this. That all they want is to see Arabs enjoy “democracy,” “human rights” and “free trade…”!
The Case of Bahrain

Run by a king – Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa – and his uncle, Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the government (almost all manned by the Al Khalifa family) immediately cracked down on protesters with tremendous violence. So much so, that a month later (March 2011) Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates sent in troops to “restore order”… so the US could smile again.

More torture; more bloodletting. An independent report issued last November by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry concluded that the government systematically tortures prisoners, commits gross human rights violations and refuses to allow international human rights organizations into the country. Somehow, that never seems to bother the Obamas, Camerons and Sarkozys of the world.At one point it got so bad that Obama sent his then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to Bahrain to see what was up.

Question: Why send the Pentagon boss and not, for example, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who in mid-March 2011 visited Tunisia and Egypt to ensure those countries installed “the kind of democracy we want to see”?

Answer: Because Bahrain is home to US Naval Forces Central Command’s Fifth Fleet.

So, dear King and PM Al Khalifas: take your time, clobber as many protesters as you need, get your act right, and please make sure our fleet is safe and sound and happy. End of story.
The Case of Libya

Libya was run by a long-governing, popular revolutionary leader – Muammar Gaddafi – who in the last decade of his rule, had begun to re-approach Western Powers, and was implementing a gradual (too gradual!) succession, transferring power to his well-educated and articulate elder son, Saif-al-Islam.

Gaddafi even organized meetings and summits with EU partners, in one of which – an Arab League Summit in his home-town Sirte in September 2010 – Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi even kissed Gaddafi’s ring, Mafia-style!

But all of that came too late. The Gaddafis made the worst mistake any sovereign country can make nowadays: they trusted the Western Powers. Huge lesson there!

Contrary to Bahrain, which houses US Naval forces; or Egypt, which is aligned to Israeli geopolitical interests; or Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE, which are playing fields for Western oil companies, Gaddafi’s Libya kept its oil revenues for the Libyan people. They ran a central bank totally independent of the US Fed, Goldman Sachs, European Central Bank, JP Morgan Chase, HSBC…

They even planned to introduce a gold currency – the Gold Dinar with real intrinsic value – to trade North African oil, which would have swept aside the US Dollar and Euro funny-money paper currencies that have been hugely eroded by the bail-out of the Mega-Bankers running the US, UK and EU, as the Chinese understand so well… In other words, Libya was a sovereign country.

To add insult to injury, once the uprising began a year ago, Gaddafi immediately accused one of the West’s favorite sons: Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda! It seems the Western media forgot to tell you that the very first country that requested that Interpol issue an international arrest warrant against Osama was… Libya!

Yes! Gaddafi ordered that, after Osama and his CIA-trained al-Qaeda boys murdered several Germans in Libya in 1998 (only Sky News seems to have briefly mentioned this on May 2, 2011).

That was long before all the “al-Qaeda bombed our embassies in Kenya and Sudan, blew up the USS Cole, and did 9/11” rhetoric.

Quite embarrassing for the US, UK and Israel!Particularly now that Al-Qaeda is joining forces with Syrian “freedom fighters.” Ah… one can almost see them fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with John McCain and Joe Lieberman, who recently called for the US to “arm Syrian rebels.”

Funny world, isn’t it? All these violent revolts, bombs, civil wars, invasions and murders done in the name of “democracy” and “freedom,” where the Western Powers and their media tell us in glittering lights who are the “good guys” and who the “bad guys” …but, are the Arab people better off today than a year ago?

Are Bahrainis and Egyptians happier today? Are Libyans, Syrians, and Yemenis better off today? Did the “Arab Spring” reach Palestine?Is there more peace, sovereignty and true democracy in the region?

Take a second look at what’s happening in the Middle East and the world; think with your brain and not with the Global Power Masters' – and maybe then things will start looking mighty different!

Adrian Salbuchi for RT

Adrian Salbuchi is a political analyst, author, speaker and radio/TV commentator in Argentina. www.asalbuchi.com.ar

­The statements, views and opinions expressed in the story are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

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Saudi flexes Gulf grip with Bahrain 'union' plans

By BRIAN MURPHY, Associated Press – 19 hours ago

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — During a sermon last week at Bahrain's Grand Mosque, the pro-government prayer leader offered sweeping praise for one of the Arab Spring's counter-revolutions: Gulf rulers bonding together against dissent with powerful Saudi Arabia as their main guardian.

The widening Saudi security stamp on the region is already taking shape in Bahrain, where more than a year of Shiite-led unrest shows no sign of easing and the Saudi influence over the embattled Sunni monarchy is on public display.

Portraits of the Saudi King Abdullah — some showing him praying — dot the airport in Bahrain's capital Manama. Bahrain's red-and-white flag and the green Saudi colors are arranged with crossed staffs. State media continually lauds the Saudi-led military force that rolled into Bahrain last year as reinforcements against the uprising by the kingdom's Shiite majority.

"Gulf union is a long-awaited dream," said Sheik Fareed al-Meftah at Friday prayers in Manama's main Sunni mosque, referring to proposals to coordinate defense affairs and other policies among the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council stretching from Kuwait to Oman.

"The first step is here," al-Meftah added.

Abdullah and Bahrain's king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, have met to discuss "union" plans, which are expected to be outlined in May. For the moment, few details have emerged. Gulf leaders have stressed the need for greater intelligence and military cooperation. It's unclear, however, how deeply Bahrain and Saudi Arabia will attempt to merge in the first steps.

The increasingly blurred national lines in Bahrain are a possible sneak preview of the wider Arab Spring backlash in the oil-rich Gulf, where Saudi power seeks to safeguard the region's Sunni leadership and its strong opposition to possible attempts by Shiite giant Iran to expand influence. Meanwhile, Gulf rulers have selectively endorsed rebellions elsewhere, such as in Libya and Syria.

So far, the Gulf agenda has dovetailed with Western partners, which unleashed NATO-led airstrikes against Moammar Gadhafi's regime in Libya and are showing increasing support for possible aid to the rebels trying to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad — Iran's key Arab ally.

But Bahrain brings the potential for friction.

Washington has stood behind Bahrain's dynasty for strategic reasons as hosts of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which is a pillar of the Pentagon's frontline forces against Iran. Yet rights groups and others have increased pressure in the U.S. and Europe to scale back support for Bahrain's rulers, who are struggling against a Shiite majority claiming it faces widespread discrimination and second-class status.

There are no signs of any significant Western reduction in support for Bahrain's dynasty, but the quandaries highlight how the tiny island kingdom has the potential to open rifts between the West and crucial ally Saudi Arabia.

"Bahrain can be looked at as something of a Saudi colony now in the sense that policies are merged," said Toby Jones, an expert on Bahraini affairs at Rutgers University. "But this is more than just a meeting of minds. It's motivated by the fears of the Arab Spring."

While there have been some rumblings of opposition — including protests in Shiite pockets in Saudi Arabia — nothing in the Gulf region has come close to Bahrain's upheaval. More than 45 people have died in the unrest, which includes near daily street clashes that include tear gas from security forces and firebombs from demonstrators. Some rights groups place the death toll above 60.

There have been no confirmed reports of Saudi soldiers directly involved in the crackdowns. But the troops in Bahrain have protected key sites, such as power plants, to free up local police. The military intervention also send a broad message that Saudi considers Bahrain a line that can't be crossed.

Gulf Arab leaders repeatedly claim that Iran is pulling the strings behind Bahrain's Shiite protests, although no clear evidence has been produced to support the allegations. The Gulf bloc fears the fall of Bahrain's 200-year-old Sunni dynasty would give Iran a beachhead in their midst.

Last month, Saudi's King Abdullah claimed "unnamed hands" were behind the upheavals in Bahrain and other unrest against Sunni leaders in the Arab world. Abdullah did not specifically cite Iran, but similar terms have been used by Saudi officials and others in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

The Saudi defense minister, in an interview published Sunday in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah, called the regional security force, known as the Peninsula Shield, the " nucleus" of protection against any threats to the Gulf states.

"Iran is our neighbor, but we draw a line when it comes to intervention in our internal affairs," Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz was quoted as saying. "Whenever we feel that anybody is interfering in our internal affairs, through internal mercenaries or people from outside, we will resist it appropriately."

A Bahrain-based economic researcher, Jassim Hussain, said a Gulf union could involve more unified economic help from the super-rich Saudi Arabia to prop up Bahrain, whose role as a regional financial hub has taken a sharp blow from the unrest. In a rare boost for Bahrain's economy in the past year, Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal selected Manama in December as the base for a 24-hour news channel, Alarab.

"Bahrain's rulers have always been dependent on the generosity of Saudi Arabia," said Simon Henderson, a Gulf analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "It's all part of the larger story — the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran for regional power."

Shiite groups in Bahrain, however, were wary that the planned union would leave Saudi Arabia the de facto ruler and further tighten crackdowns on the opposition.

"We welcome the idea of closer Gulf union if the people of nations approve it," said Sheik Ali Salman, head the largest Shiite political group, Al Wefaq. "But if the purpose is just to turn Bahrain into an emirate of Saudi Arabia, then it will not be accepted and it will be disastrous."

Associated Press writers Adam Schreck and Barbara Surk contributed to this report.

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The Prince and the Ayatollah
By ED HUSAIN
Published: May 1, 2012

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When I was invited to visit Bahrain by members of the royal family, I hesitated. They had crushed peaceful protesters last year, and their police had used tear gas against human rights activists. Like everybody else, including some of the Bahraini policemen I later spoke with, I was appalled at the violence and thought the monarchy had blood on its hands. But I felt that declining the offer was irresponsible. I wanted to know the monarchy’s side of the story. So I accepted the invitation — on the condition that I was free to meet Bahrain’s opposition.
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Andrea Bruce for The New York Times

Security forces guarding a landmark in Manama, Bahrain, known as Pearl Square, where protesters stayed for weeks.
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Bahraini Court Orders Retrials for Activists (May 1, 2012)
Times Topic: Bahrain News — The Protests

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Bahrain is a tiny island nation of 600,000 citizens, with a Parliament of only 40 members, and it cannot be understood if looked at in isolation. For one thing, it stands at the forefront of a regional cold war. Saudi Arabia lies to the west, connected by a 25-kilometer causeway built jointly by the Saudis and Bahrainis. To the east, across the waters of the Gulf, lies Iran. Both Tehran and Riyadh have major stakes in Bahrain.

En route to Bahrain, I stopped by in Riyadh and had many conversations with top government officials, journalists and academics. Their views were clear: Saudi Arabia would not stand by and see Bahrain’s ruling al-Khalifa family fall from power. The Saudis sent in soldiers to help the al-Khalifas regain control of Bahrain in March 2011 and are prepared to do so again.

If King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa abdicates, they asked, then who would be next among Arab kings? What consequences would the ensuing chaos have on global energy supplies? If power falls into the hands of the main Shiite opposition group, Bahrain could join Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon under the Iranian sphere of influence in the Middle East.

In Bahrain, I was a guest of the king’s son, Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa, who, in the context of the country’s current political climate, is a liberal’s liberal. Educated in Washington and Cambridge, England, the 42-year-old prince spoke about Britain’s constitutional monarchy, the dire need for political reform in his country, and his yearning for a political settlement with the opposition.

He appeared genuinely contrite about the excesses of the government in Bahrain, but also convinced that the opposition has no vision of how to improve matters. “The path to hell is paved with good intentions,” he said. Constantly, he referred to the need for “evolution” rather than “revolution.”

Within the ruling family, he led the charge for reform last year, but was abandoned by Al Wefaq, the main opposition party, midway through discussions. The party kept changing its demands and the leaders were divided over what they wanted. This strengthened the hand of the more conservative wing of the royal family, led by the conservative, long-serving prime minister, Prince Khalifa bin Sulman al-Khalifa, 74.

The opposition wants the prime minister to resign, but neither the king nor the crown prince can dare ask a family elder to depart in ignominy.

Just as there are divisions within the royal family, there are serious splits in Bahrain’s Shiite political scene. Not all the Shiites in Bahrain want to topple the monarchy. Nor is the opposition composed only of democrats who simply want to oust a monarchy.

Again and again, in villages and in meetings with Shiite opposition figures, one name kept coming up: Ayatollah Issa Qassim, spiritual leader of Al Wefaq, whose writ runs large across the Shiite opposition movement. Educated in Iran, his sermons are generally anti-American, anti-democracy and vehemently pro-Iran. When Iran’s green movement challenged the mullahs in Tehran, Ayatollah Qassim accused the West of “trying to divide an otherwise peaceful country” and of “hatred toward Islam.”

He is also intolerant of Shiites with divergent views back home. Three Shiite members of Bahrain’s Parliament explained to me the consequences of daring to challenge Ayatollah Qassim. When they decided not to honor Al Wefaq’s call to boycott elections last October, Al Wefaq-controlled mosques called on people to attack them; firebombs were thrown at their homes and their children were harassed on the streets. They live in fear for their lives, and they are not alone.

Ayatollah Qassim’s supporters not only undermined the crown prince’s efforts at reconciliation, but in recent weeks have taken to rioting in villages across Bahrain. In Sitra, one such village outside Manama, I spoke in Arabic with a police official, a Shiite, who said: “I am Bahraini before I am Shiite. We must live as Bahrainis and do what’s right for our country, and not be controlled by Iran’s clerics.”

Like Bahraini Sunnis, the official felt the monarchy was not giving him the means to respond to the rioters. They have no guns, he complained, which left them at the mercy of rioters with home-made arrows and Molotov cocktails. “Last year, my colleagues in the army and interrogation units were wrong to torture protesters,” he said. “But what about the attacks on us now? How are we do defend ourselves?”

Ayatollah Qassim has not called on his supporters to cease violence against the police, government and dissenting Shiite leaders. Instead, he has demanded that Jawad Hussain, one of the legislators I spoke with, and other dissenting Shiite political leaders and clerics come to the ayatollah’s mosque during Friday services and publicly repent for betraying “the community.”

Ayatollah Qassim’s message does not justify the torture and human rights violations exercised by the government of Bahrain. The demands of the opposition for an end to discrimination in government jobs and for greater political freedoms are valid. But calls for greater human rights must not be selective. Last year the opposition blocked bills that gave women equality and freedom in Bahrain because the ayatollahs opposed it, while the monarchy and Sunni parties supported it.

Bahrain is an important nation because it is a focal point of what is happening in the Middle East today — the battle to find a balance between preserving the best values of the Islamic tradition while the region eases its way into the modern world.

It is crucial that Western nations help the country achieve this balance, and that they not provide diplomatic cover for rioters and clerics in the name of human rights and democracy.

Instead, they should be using every pressure point to strengthen the reformist strands within the monarchy in support of political change, equal rights for women and an end to the language of Shiite sectarianism in Bahrain. Negotiations around the political table are the only way forward in Bahrain.

Ed Husain is a senior fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. ============ Pope Allies With Ayatollahs In Syria Mediation Effort Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives to lead his Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, Oct. 17, 2012. (photo by REUTERS/Tony Gentile) By:Nidal al-Lithi posted on Friday, Oct 19, 2012 Pope Benedict XVI has started mediating to solve the crisis in Syria, with the support of the religious authority Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani — the highest authority of Najaf — and Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Qom's highest authority. Italian Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's number two official, said that the delegation would travel to Damascus next week. About this Article Summary: A Vatican delegation plans to head to Damascus next week to help mediate the increasingly bloody conflict in Syria, reports Nidal al-Lithi, and apparently has the support of Iraq and Iran's religious authorities, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Publisher: Azzaman (Iraq) Original Title: Pope Starts Mediation for Syria with Support of Al-Sistani and Khamenei. SNC Reveals to Azzaman Content of its Letter to Vatican for the First Time Author: Nidal al-Lithi Published on: Thu, Oct 18, 2012 Translated on: Fri, Oct 19, 2012 Translated by: Sami-Joe Abboud Categories : Syria George Sabra, a member of the executive committee of the Syrian National Council (SNC), told Azzaman that the council warmly welcomes the visit of the Vatican delegation. He said [the SNC] welcomed the role of the Pope. Sabra revealed to Azzaman the content of a letter he and Abdul-Basit Sida, head of the SNC, delivered to the Pope during their meeting at the Vatican last month. Sabra said the papal delegation's visit to Damascus is part of a broader move involving Iran and Iraq. Meanwhile, the Vatican’s ambassador in Baghdad, Giorgio Lingua, met with Sistani during his visit to Najaf. Raad Jalil, head of the Christian Endowment office, told Azzaman that the topics discussed between the Vatican ambassador and the highest authorities of Najaf did not include political issues. When asked by Azzaman about the planned visit of the Vatican’s ambassador in Baghdad to Tehran to meet with the Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, Jalil said he did not know of the matter. The Italian Cardinal Bertone said that the bishops cannot remain idle when there is a tragedy that won't end politically. He stressed that the delegation would encourage all parties who have committed themselves to search for an agreement that respects the rights and duties of all, with particular attention to the provisions of humanitarian law. However, Sabra told Azzaman: “We are optimistic about the papal envoy's visit to Syria, following the Pope’s visit to Lebanon and his apostolic guidance to the Middle East, in which he said that what is happening in Syria is part of the Arab Spring.” Sabra stressed that Christians are part of Syrian society and they share in the suffering. He added: “We hope that the visit of the papal envoy will be a continuation of what was started by the Apostolic Exhortation, and we hope that [the Pope] makes another step toward solidarity with the Syrian people, all the while ensuring a peaceful and democratic transition of power in which Christians will have a role.” Sabra added: “Sida — head of the SNC — and I have met with the Pope and explained to him the suffering of the Syrians, and we delivered a letter to him regarding this painful situation.” Asked by Azzaman about the demands delivered to the Pope, Sabra said: “We did not ask for any specific demands.” He also added that the Vatican cardinals do not lack wisdom in dealing with such things, as they are fully aware of the situation. The Pope’s Spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi said that the protocol for the visit would be announced soon. Lombardi added that the mission highlights the commitment of the Church as a whole and will include — in addition to the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, and Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who is responsible for inter-religious dialogue — high-level figures from different countries, including Archbishop of Kinshasa, the Congolese Laurent Monsengwo who played a major role in the peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombian Fabio Suescún Mutis, Vietnamese Joseph Nguyen Nang and American Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, who has began to climb to prominence within church circles. A Syrian bishop noted that this announcement had surpassed all expectations of Arab bishops, who constantly expressed during the Synod their fears of Islamic dominance, which raised doubts about the possibility of conducting a real dialogue. For a long time, the majority of Catholics in Syria were in favor of the secular regime of Bashar al-Assad, who was protecting their rights as a minority. However, the increasing repression led some of them to join the opposition, but another part is seemingly still supporting the regime for fear that Islamists will come to power. But the Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai objected, telling AFP: “I tell Westerners who say that Christians are with the Syrian regime that the Christians are with the state, not with the regime. They are worried about the stability of their country, not the stability of the regime.” Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2012/10/pope-benedict-ayatollah-sistani-to-mediate-syria-crisis.html#ixzz29tMX8wAy =============