The U.S. is stepping up its support for Bahrain's beleaguered ruling family, throwing a lifeline to a key ally and signaling Washington's willingness to vary its approach depending on its strategic interests and the willingness of autocratic leaders to respond to popular protests.
After backing opposition calls for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Col. Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, President Barack Obama has tentatively embraced efforts by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain to ease tensions and advance reform, despite an initial wave of violence against protesters.
Mr. Obama and other officials, in statements this week, welcomed the ruling family's outreach efforts and the king's decisions to reshuffle his cabinet, pull back his forces and free political prisoners. Mr. Obama said the dialogue was an "opportunity for meaningful reform."
The U.S. military is playing a key role behind the scenes in the Obama administration's decision making, underlining Bahrain's strategic importance as the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and as a bulwark against Iran, according to officials and diplomats.
The kingdom's use of force against widespread protests left seven dead, prompting Mr. Obama to condemn the use of violence and call for restraint. The royal family later pulled its forces back, reducing tensions.
It is uncertain what will result from the latest outreach, and whether the U.S. will stand by the ruling family if more violence breaks out. Tensions in Manama, the capital, flared again this week after several days of relative calm. Several hundred protesters marched on an intersection in the financial district late Tuesday, chanting, "Down, down Khalifa."
"We're here to escalate the protests because we want the king out," said one demonstrator, Hassan Mohammed Hassan.
The show of U.S. support for the ruling family follows a lobbying push by Bahrain and its main ally in the region, Saudi Arabia, the officials and diplomats said.
In private talks in recent days, Bahraini officials have appealed to the Obama administration to lend higher-level support for the king and Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa's offer to open a dialogue with opposition groups.
"This is the support we expect because of the relationship and because of what we are doing," a senior Bahraini official said of the monarchy's message to the Obama administration. "We have taken action, solid steps, to begin dialogue with all parties."
Without Washington's support, Bahraini officials told the Americans, the kingdom risked slipping into a "sectarian divide," pitting a Shiite majority against ruling Sunnis.
Bahraini officials also warned the U.S. that Iran would be the big winner should the ruling family fall. U.S. officials are skeptical of Bahraini claims that Iran is behind the uprising.
Saudi lobbying on behalf of Bahrain underscores Riyadh's fears that it could come under pressure next, if its neighbor succumbs to the opposition, Arab officials said.
Administration officials remain cautious about the way forward in Bahrain. "Steps announced by the king thus far are positive…but obviously there's a trust deficit that has to be overcome and that will require difficult steps," an administration official said.
Anthony Cordesman, an expert on the region with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the Obama administration understood that it can't respond to the unrest sweeping the region with a "one-size-fits-all" approach. "These pressures occur in very different regimes with very different social and economic situations, and the administration has to be pragmatic," he said.
While Mr. Mubarak in Egypt and Col. Gadhafi in Libya showed a "systemic resistance to reform," the royal family of Bahrain has made "serious promises of change," Mr. Cordesman said.
In contrast to Bahrain, Mr. Mubarak's call for a "national dialogue" to address protesters' demands was met with skepticism at the White House.
An Obama administration official said the White House has articulated the "same values" in all of the countries caught up in the unrest by calling for rights for demonstrators and "meaningful" reforms. "Our core principles are the same—nonviolence, universal rights and meaningful reform," the official said. "How to get from here to there is determined by the actions of the people in the various countries."
Write to Joe Parkinson at joe.parkinson@dowjones.com
No comments:
Post a Comment