Jeffrey Feltman in Bahrain

Jeffrey Feltman, the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, visited
the Kingdom of Bahrain three times during the last week on behalf of the U.S.
administration to look into the events that have preoccupied the international
community.

According to his statement to the “Alwasat” Bahraini newspaper, he has met with
a number of members from the Bahraini opposition as well as with some of the
heads of the administration in Bahrain. He also emphasized on his meeting with
the King and the Crown Prince and praised the Crown Prince’s seriousness and
desire to find an efficient solution to bring the country out of crisis in a way that
satisfies all concerned parties.

He also stressed on the fact that the United States is carefully monitoring the way
the Bahraini government is reacting to the peaceful demonstrations at a time
which he calls for accelerating dialogue; dialogue not just for the sake of
dialogue, but to find a suitable ground for mutual understanding between the
people. He also pointed out that America maintains a friendship with the royal
family and the people of Bahrain.

Personal visits by a figure such as Jeffrey Feltman, three times in one week, show
how concerned the United States is regarding the current situations in Bahrain. It
seems that the United States has received the message that hundreds of
thousands of people coming out, en masse in a small
country such as Bahrain, in a serious but peaceful manner
indicates the presence of a strong desire for change.

These masses have revealed an outstanding sense of

peace that is beyond comparison and manner for such a
large crowd; and despite what this crowd has met of live
ammunition, they have bared their chests to these shots
without extending their hands to take revenge on their
killer.

Anyone overlooking this situation would know without doubt that this nation is
ready for change and ready to pay any price for it, while expressing their
demands in a peaceful way, making it difficult for anyone to describe them as
terrorists. This makes it agitating not only for the local government but also to
the whole international community, as it makes it unacceptable to use force or
justify it especially if the people keep up their peaceful stance. This will in turn
put the government in an uncomfortable corner.

Anyone overlooking this situation and able to analyze Filtman’s character would
find that this time he will have difficulties with dealing with this peaceful nation.
There is no doubt that there is a certain agreement between the US
administration and the official political leaders of Bahrain that cunningly engulfs
this popular movement and hands over the responsibility of solving the issue to
the Crown Prince and his group of politicians, consultants, and founders of this
idea.

The presence of the United States seems to come in a good will although it is not
far from the policy of current alliances; a phase that seems to be quickly coming
to its end. The presence of the United States seems to have come because of the
seriousness of the situation, but in reality it has come to send a lifeline to an old
ally.
It must, also, be stated that at the end of the day the United States is not a nation
that is willing to sacrifice for the sake of friendship. Hilary Clinton at first
described the Egyptian president as a friend, but abandoned him after seeing the
impossibility of stabilizing the situation in Egypt and realizing that it would be
more effective to seek change in a less expensive way that will at the same time
reserve a fair or large amount of influence on Egypt. The same will apply to other
allies as the United States is an obvious example of the pragmatist world.