The Gulf Cooperation Council has a new leader this week, retired Bahraini Lt. Gen. Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, who took the position over on Thursday. Inevitably, he was asked about the recent GCC invasion of Bahrain to crush anti-regime protests.
And even more inevitably, Zayani cheered the attacks, saying they showed the seriousness the GCC took toward maintaining “security and stability.” He also insisted it was part of a “glorious march” toward greater collective security and “comprehensive complementarity.”
The GCC invasion was done at the behest of the faltering Bahraini regime, and officials have defended it as their “sovereign right” to request other nations help them crush dissent. Though the US has offered some vague criticism of the killings of protesters, they also remain close allies of Bahrain and the other GCC members.
Zayani in particular underscores the close Western ties that have allowed the GCC crackdown to largely escape scrutiny. He was educated first at a British royal military academy, then received a Master’s Degree from the US Air Force Institute of Technology, then a PhD from the US Naval Postgraduate School.
The GCC crackdown led to mass arrests of protesters, as well as a still unknown number of deaths in the tiny island nation. Bahrain has blamed the protests on a “subversive foreign plot.”
Gosh, just about any time that tyranny is smashing the skulls of peaceful protest well, it's a "glorious march." You know on account of Bahrain protest is bad.
So all hail the conquering forces marching charging "gloriously" up the spines of any and all Bahrainis that just might be sick to death of monarchy and oligarchy and repression.
Brutal repression is always hailed as "sovereign right" or "the divine right of kings" or that ever so annoying "glorious march."
What? No 'no-fly zone' for the kingdom of Bahrain? Hmmm, me thinks I can smell hypocrisy and diplomatic double standard wafting over the landscape.
the guy has as many degrees as Bush – probably got them the same way. what a wanker
The fate of Bahrain people should trouble the conscience of our nation, and our whole concept of who we are and what we represent. In this regard, Obama's failure as a President and as a human being could not have been greater. Nowhere in the Middle East is there are regime as oppressive as Bahrain. The regime imposed on the population is a religious minority, lording over 80 percent of population. The majority of population is EXCLUDED from holding a job in police, military, government civil service . When they rose up in the wake of Egyptian revolution, they hoped the world was going to hear their plight. US has turned blind eye. Speaking of regime killing his own people! Gadhafi guilty of that? No, the only regime that killed unarmed civilians asking for BASIC human rights, is BAHRAIN. While we are being entertained by Libya, in Bahrain THOUSANDS have disappeared, presumed dead, who knows how many tortured for information. PAKISTANIS are imported to beef up police in Bahrain, while Bahrainis cannot ever become police in their own country.
This is beyond disguisting. We are washing our hands and averting our gaze when utterly oppressed population of Bahrain is slaughtered.
Where is the regime of Obama and Hillary Clinton to insist the human massacre and the brutality of Bahraini government and the Saudis, Kuwaitis, Arab emirates militarism occupation and attacks on civilians. Where is that democracy that they are talking about Libya.., why the support they giving to terrorism in Libya.., and why all this double language about democracy.., is it because Obama and Hillary Clinton have become the new deal maker among US and Saudis Tyrant family in one hand and NATO/EU in another.