Update II : 8:29 PM, April 18, 2011.
"The first advice I'm going to give my successor is to watch the generals and to avoid feeling that, just because they are military men, their opinions on military matters are worth a damn." JFK to Ben Bradlee from "Oliver Stone: Don't Betray Us, Barack -- End the Empire
Let's face facts: The US can no longer dictate to the rest of the world."Oliver Stone & Peter Kuznick at The New Statesman via Alternet.org, April 15, 2011
CNN journalist kicked out of Bahrain after reporting the extent of violence being used by Bahraini and Saudi security forces on unarmed civilians including doctors, nurses, ambulance attenents , journalists . The government is incarcerating protesters and anyone who criticizes the Bahraini government . Most of the people interviewed by media have been incarcerated or "disappeared" by the government .
The Obama administration has convinced the UN and NATO to intervene militarily in Libya to protect the pro-reform movement and the armed rebels in Libya against the Qaddafi Regime.
The argument has been that Qaddafi has lost any credibility or legitimacy as representing the will of the Libyan people by refusing to negotiate with the pro-reform movement followed by his use of brute force against armed and unarmed civilians .
Given the arguments made by President Obama and NATO regarding the Libyan government's violent response to the rebels why is this argument not also applicable to other states in the region faced with a similar situation such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria Yemen etc.
Obama , Gates, Clinton hypocrisy in the case of bahrain and Saudi Arabia
This is one of the reasons many people in the region do not trust the Americans-they say one thing and do another.
The US has followed up its rhetoric with action in Libya but does nothing substantive to stop the killings, beatings, torture etc. in Bahrain.
The narrative offered up by Bahrain and Saudi Arabian officials is that the protests in Bahrain are part of a sectarian dispute and that it is the Shia majority who want to oust the government to be replaced by an Islamic Shia theocracy.
The Bahraini and Saudi spokespersons also are appealing to the west that what they are supposedly facing is a Shia uprising engineered by Iran for which in fact there is no evidence for. Iran is part of the infamous Axis of Evil or Terror and so Bahrain is attempting to gain support from the US and the West by raising the specter of Iranian Jihadists/ terrorists working behind the scenes in Bahrain.
From reports on the ground in Bahrain this simplified narrative is pure propaganda and that those protesting against the government in Bahrain include Shia and Sunni Muslims .
The reason more Shia than Sunni are involved in the protests is simply a matter of demographics that is the majority of people in Bahrain are Shia .
So if anything it is the Bahraini government is doing all it can to turn the situation into a sectarian dispute and thereby crush and silence the protesters. They are using what they have learned from the colonial powers of divide and conquer by making either side that is Shia and Sunni to distrust each other and thereby be unwilling to work together to get the reforms they want.
This for instance explains why the government would in the midst of this unrest use its resources to destroy Shia Mosques in the hope that the Shia would turn against the Sunnis..
US Double Standards-
STATE OF FEAR and Sectarian Cleansing IN BAHRAIN [Must Watch]
USA MIA : Bahrain Occupied By Saudis
In the case of Bahrain there are some 6,000 troops and the fifth fleet stationed in Bahrain.
The Obama administration could have just threatened to use force if the Bahrian government continued with its bloody and brutal crackdown on unarmed protesters and its use of force to intimidate and terrorize its civilian population.
Of course Obama could request a no fly zone over Bahrain to at least stop the government from using Apache helicopter gunships from attacking civilians.
Obama and the the EU and Nato and UN could insist on an arms embargo on Bahrain and on Saudi Arabia.
They could also freeze foreign assets of both countries .
But it appears that the civilians and rebels of Libya are to be defended against their governments use of force but the unarmed civilians of Bahrain being beaten, incarcerated, shot, tear gassed, their homes invaded and being tortured or disappeared by the Bahraini and Saudi forces are of little interest to the Americans and other Western Nations.
Bahrain Is Bleeding By US Bullets -البحرين تنزف برصاصات امريكا
Bahrain Govt Destroying Places of worship تكسير المضيف في البحرين
Uploaded by EncryptedReality2 on Apr 11, 2011
Bahrain Govt Destroying Places of worship تكسير المضيف في البلاد القديم
Footage clearly shows sectarian cleansing by Saudi and Bahrainis.
With the help of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain is carrying out "sectarian cleansing" against the Shia population in the Persian Gulf country, a national human rights activist says.
"Today we are witnessing a sectarian cleansing targeting the Shia. People are being sacked from their work based on sectarian reasons. Athletes are being sacked from the clubs they play for based on their sectarian background. Students who study abroad are being brought back based on sectarian backgrounds," said Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, in an interview with Press TV.
"We are not talking about a Shia-Sunni dispute. There is a dispute between the Bahraini opposition -- majority of them Shia -- and the ruling elite, the ruling family, and not the Sunni people," he added.
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over what it says are growing abuses by the Bahraini regime against its citizens.
"Most of the people who did documentaries or interviews or spoke to TV channels like Press TV are arrested as of this moment. People are even afraid to talk to journalists or to the media, because it is very frightening," Rajab pointed out.
"I myself have been beaten and arrested. My house has been attacked for a second time. The CNN interviewers at my house were arrested, and they were released later because they were Americans. The situation is very dangerous," he noted.
The peaceful popular movement in Bahrain, that demands the ruling Al-Khalifa family to step down, has been violently cracked down on since mid-February.
Maryam al-Khawaja, another Bahraini activist, has said that nearly 800 protesters, including at least 25 women have been so far detained in crisis-hit Bahrain.
Saudi Arabia's human rights record is abysmal and just as bad as that of Qaddafi or Mubarak of Egypt. When Mubarak resorted to the use of brute force the Americans finally withdrew support for him. And so why can't they do the same in regards to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Surely given its relationship with Saudi Arabia the US could stop the brutal crackdown in Bahrain .
We are forced to conclude that the US is merely using the situation in Libya to oust Qaddafi and pursue its own agenda.
The US and its allies are calling the situation in Libya a humanitarian crisis while calling the same situation in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain purely a domestic issue and none odf America's business.
If the US wants to win hearts and minds in the region then it needs to be as even handed in its policies regarding the different nations and people and to be seen as on the side of the people in all cases and not just where US interests lie.
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UPDATE: 8:29 PM April 18, 2011.
Saudi Arabia shameful, criminal behavior ignored by US Government and US Media
Is this part of Islam's teachings to beat and rape maids-What would Muhammad Do?
Muhammad taught we are all equal men and women , white or black etc.
Muhammad and the Qur'an is quite vocal on the issue of injustice demanding that the weak, the poor the orphan the widow be treated with compassion .
The Qur'an is on the side of justice and against any artificial hierarchy which says that one group of people in society is better than any other. Each and every person is to be treated fairly and justly and that Justice is not reserved only for the few and can not be denied to any minority group.
So anyway here is a glimpse into the dark side of Saudi Arabia's culture
.
Amnesty International Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
The authorities used a wide range of repressive measures to suppress freedom of expression and other legitimate activities. Hundreds of people were arrested as suspected terrorists. Thousands of others arrested in the name of security in previous years remained in jail; they included prisoners of conscience. Some 330 security suspects received unfair trials before a newly constituted but closed specialized court; one was sentenced to death and 323 were sentenced to terms of imprisonment.Saudi Arabia at Human Rights Watch
Women continued to face severe discrimination in law and practice, despite some signs of reform. The state did little to tackle widespread violence against women, particularly against domestic workers. Shi’a Muslims and others were targeted for practising their faith. The rights of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers were violated. The administration of justice remained shrouded in secrecy and was summary in nature. Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees were systematic and carried out with impunity. Sentences of flogging were regularly imposed. The death penalty was used extensively. At least 69 people were executed, including two juvenile offenders.
Saudi Arabia: Let Women Vote, Run for Office
The Saudi government’s refusal to let women vote in municipal elections in September 2011 unlawfully deprives women of their rights to full and equal status under the law. Human Rights Watch called on the election committee to allow women to vote and to run for seats on the municipal councils.
Saudi Arabia: Let Women Vote, Run for Office
MAR 31, 2011
Saudi Arabia: Arrests for Peaceful Protest on the Rise
MAR 27, 2011
Saudi Ferment, and a King’s Choice
MAR 9, 2011
Saudi Arabia: Stop Stifling Peaceful Dissent
MAR 8, 2011
Globalvoicesonline Saudi Arabia's human rights activists, who have been pushing their cause on mico-blogging site, Twitter, have been asked to shut up.
Following the arrest of Dr Mohammed Alabdulkareem, Twitter's hashtag #FreeDrAlabdulkareem was trending with calls to free the scholar, who was detained after publishing an article on the effectiveness of the political regulation among the royal family. There, heated exchanges ensued between human rights advocates, government officials and netizens, in general."Islam is against Democracy" at Center For Democracy & Human Rights in Saudi Arabia
The most intense exchange of tweets was between the Saudi Consultative (Shura) Council member Abdulrahman Alenad and Dr Alabdulkareem's lawyer Waleed Abulkhair.
Rattled by the unprecedented and contagious revolts befalling Arab despots around them, the Saudi monarchy has realized that bribery is not enough to placate their disenfranchised citizens. The notorious Saudi Minister of Interior, Prince Naif, issued a stern warning against any public demonstration by anyone at anytime in the repressive desert kingdom. As usual, his royal warning was immediately echoed by the top religious clerics including the Saudi Mufti, Al-Ashaikh. According to the Imam of Prophet Mohammed’s Mosque in Madinah, Al-Hudaifi, “Laws and regulations in the Kingdom totally prohibit all kinds of demonstrations, marches and sit-in protests as well as calling for them as they go against the principles of Shariah and Saudi customs and traditions… There is no place for chaotic demonstrations in this country of monotheism because Shariah is the dominant force in this country.”* This is the first time the religious establishment has unequivocally asserted that Islam is against individual liberty and freedom of expression. This means that as long as the Quran is the country’s constitution and the Shariah is its law, there can be neither political participation nor personal freedom.
Saudi Arabia employers 'hammer nails' into Sri Lankan maid
Indonesian Maids Suffer Violent Abuse In Saudi Arabia
and so it goes,
GORD.
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