According to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, all was well in the Persian Gulf emirate of Bahrain just two months ago, when she paid a visit. "I am very impressed by the progress Bahrain is making on all fronts -- economically politically, socially," she enthused at a town hall meeting. Speaking of the ruling al-Khalifa family, she said, "I think the commitment to democracy is paramount."
Now, however, Bahrain is at the forefront of the continuing Arab uprising -- the only Persian Gulf state where the popular protests of Tunisia and Egypt have spread. On both Monday and Tuesday thousands of protesters gathered in the center of Manama, the capital, only to be frontally attacked by riot police. So far, two have been killed. The demonstrators nevertheless managed to reach a central square, dominated by a statue of a pearl, that they are calling "Tahrir," or "Liberation" square in honor of the Egyptian revolution. Their demand is the same as that in Cairo: genuine democracy.
via PostPartisan - Blindsided in Bahrain.
The State Department seems to out to lunch and Panetta’s CIA is no better.
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