Crackdown in Bahrain leaves 5 dead
As the protest wave continues to roll forward, we will see different reactions from different governments to the temerity of their captive citizens to want a little more say in decisions that affect their lives.
Dateline: Bahrain. Peaceful protests launched in the last few days have now been met with government violence.
The New York Times:
Without warning, hundreds of heavily armed riot police officers rushed into Pearl Square here early Thursday, firing shotguns, tear gas and concussion grenades at the thousands of demonstrators who were sleeping there as part of a widening protest against the nation's absolute monarchy.
At least five people died, some of them reportedly killed in their sleep with scores of shotgun pellets to the face and chest, according to a witness and three doctors who received the dead and at least 200 wounded at a hospital here. The witness and the physicians spoke in return for anonymity for fear of official reprisals.The military said later it had taken control of most of the capital and banned protests, The Associated Press reported. The announcement on state television said the military had "key parts" of Manama "under control," hours after the killings.
Television broadcasts showed tanks rolling through the capital.
Why the violent response from the government? Bahrain's monarchy is Sunni while the majority of the population is Shia. This incendiary mix is the same that existed in Iraq prior to Saddam's removal. The Sunni minority cannot grant what the protestors want or they are finished. Hence, the vicious crackdown in the middle of the night.
It would be easy to pin the blame on Iran for these protests, but the Shias have been agitating for more rights for a couple of decades. Taken with the situation in Egypt, it appears this particular round of protests was inspired more by events in Cairo rather than any direction from Tehran. No doubt there are Iranian agitators among the Shia protestors, but all signs point to a more homegrown protest - this time.
The Gulf states are particularly vulnerable given their corrupt monarchies and ultra traditionalist worldview. Considering how sensitive the world oil markets are to disturbances like this, expect the per barrel price of oil to continue to shoot up as long as the threat of instability remains.
Ad Free / Commenting Login
FOLLOW US ON
Recent Articles
- Trump-O-Phobia Drives Some Americans to Questionable Greener Pastures Overseas
- A Businessman and a Brilliant Strategist
- A Remarkable Headline for a Fascinating Story
- Democrats Unmask Themselves
- How Mexico Became China’s Trojan Horse in U.S. Trade
- Covid Redux: The Bird Flu Scare
- A Taste of the Swamp
- Do We Have 677 Unelected Presidents?
- Global Relations beyond the Prime Directive
- The Democrat Party: The Enemy Within?
Blog Posts
- Hills to Die On: Democrats know how to pick 'em
- Near-death experiences, reliance on oil, and more cataclysmic failures—it’s all just part and parcel of ‘green’ energy
- So where'd America's obesity epidemic come from? Chef Andrew Gruel has a theory ...
- Trump just fired a huge warning shot over Iran’s bow
- Markets respond: Trumpian peace in Russo-Ukrainian war is in the bag
- The time of the hoax
- New York Times goes bipolar on Trump’s border control success
- Mark Kelly decides to offload his Tesla to protest Elon Musk
- The half-million dollar American
- Three things for the U.S. to understand about the Middle East
- Speaker Mike Johnson reveals why the Autopen scandal is a big deal
- The CDC website really needs to update its COVID protocols
- Hands in your back pocket
- Birthright citizenship: The facts
- ‘She’s my little Musk coupe’