A relatively forgettable pro-regime opinion piece relating to the Bahraini government, posted in the Washington Times in November, is coming under renewed scrutiny today after it was revealed that the article, penned by a former US 5th Fleet commander turned Lockheed Martin executive, was placed at the behest of a lobbying firm working for the Bahraini government itself.
In the article, Vice Admiral Charles W. Moore urged the US government to back the Bahraini government in its crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, insisting that the Bahraini royal family was an irreplaceable ally and that allowing the protesters to make inroads would “harm American security.”
The Washington Times pointed out in the article placement that Moore is a top executive at Lockheed, a company involved in hundreds of millions of dollars in arms sales with the tiny island kingdom, but made no mention that the article’s placement was done at the behest of the Sanitas lobbying firm, which is registered as a foreign agent for the Bahraini government and is paid some $15,000 per month to lobby on the regime’s behalf.
After the article was placed, it was promoted by the Bahraini embassy and also run concurrently by the nation’s state media. The Washington Times editorial page editor, David Mastio, denied any wrongdoing, saying that they felt the information about Moore’s role in Lockheed and history as a commander of the 5th Fleet was sufficient to “inform” the readers. He also denied having any knowledge about Moore’s relationship with Sanitas, above and beyond the belated public disclosure that Sanitas pressed them to run his op-ed.
The Bahrain government has paid $1 million to firms like this and Qorvis to glam up its international image. Any positive article on this government will have been paid for because it is doing nothing postive for its citizens. There have been constant media releases about how it is going to implement the BICI report recommendations but citizens are still being attacked, arrested, raped and tortured.
International police chiefs are hired but the police are even more brutal. International lawyers have been hired and one can only assume it is to have the best advice on how to implement as little as possible.
This is a shameful government.
The protesters in Bahrain, should be opposed not only by the US , but by all peace loving people around the world.They dont have a clear political agenda to promote. I am not a progovernment person, but a journalist for the last 16 plus years, worked to promote democracy in this tiny island. The protesters are vandals, hooligans and arsonists. How many schools are vandalised? To date 18 since the start of the school year. Every night roads are blocked, police men are attacked with Molotove cocktails.These are signs of demanding democracy? They agitated the whole social fabric in the nation, so they should not only condemned but prosecuted as well. Expatriates have been targetted and many fled the country ,fearing for their life.These people work manual and minial jobs, Bahrainis refused to work. Garbagge collecters and cleaners, who have nothing to do with the political system of the nation. Children as small as TWO YEARS old are made to participate in protests, Can you imagine ?
Duri mohammed.
I love this tongue-in-cheek kind of post. It is very funny. I am afraid, however, that some may take it seriously. Not everyone is subtle enough to grasp your irony, Abu. Better to just stick to the facts.
Who's been paying you Abu? You must be a deaf and domb journalist.
Abu… I do not support violent revolution except in the most extreme circumstances. You cannot criticize people for “not being an active part of government” in a dictatorial monarchy. That’s just ridiculous.
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That goes to show America's claim about democrcy and human rights is rank hypocracy. I think this trait is something that the world is well aware of, although our politicians have their heads deep in sand.