Outrage: UK Training Saudi Forces Used To Crush Dissent In Bahrain

Here are some gems of justification from the UK about their ministry of Defence training Saudi troops in crowd control, some of them were used in Bahrain:

“This is the shocking face of our democracy to many people in the world, as we prop up regimes of this sort,” Edwards said. “It is intensely hypocritical of our leadership in the UK – Labour or Conservative – to talk of supporting freedoms in the Middle East and elsewhere while at the same time training crack troops of dictatorships.”

The West's mission in the ME is not about demcoracy but about changing hostile regimes to friendly ones. And even if Arabs implements democracy overnight, the West won’t be pleased.

“An MoD spokesman described the Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia, as “key partners” in the fight against terrorism. “By providing training for countries to the same high standards used by UK armed forces we help to save lives and raise awareness of human rights,” said the spokesman.”

What? Aren’t these the same people who are portrayed by US embassy cables as cash machines for Islamists terrorists? And up until recently by the hundred millions?

And last but not least:

“Labour MP Mike Gapes, the former chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, said British military support for Saudi Arabia was about achieving a “difficult balance”.
“On the one hand Saudi Arabia faces the threat of al-Qaida but on the other its human rights record is dreadful. This is the constant dilemma you have when dealing with autocratic regimes: do you ignore them or try to improve them?”

The daughter of a Bahraini human rights activist on hunger strike

Zainab Al-Khawadja announced her strike to president Obama to hold him responsible for what is happening to human rights in Bahrain where the US has a military base.

She is also tweeting her hunger strike.

Zainab spoke with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now


Amy Goodman: Bahrainis are suffering the same oppression as Lybians so why does Obama have nothing to say?

The Guardian has an article on Zainab Al Khawadja today.

US mired in policy hypocrisy as interests outweigh protesters lives

Whom are they fooling with their talk on human rights?

Bahrain opposition figure dies in custody.

Wikileaks: 'King of Bahrain has links with Mossad'

How long will we continue to ignore the close and secret collaboration of some Arab states with those who butcher Arab children and steel their land and their livelihood?

4. (C) The King spoke at some length on Israeli-Palestinian developments, expressing satisfaction at the positive turn of events. This is a good moment, he said, that can be important for stability in the region. He said that he had instructed newly-appointed Minister of Information Dr. Mohammed Abdul-Ghaffar to make sure that official announcements or statements coming out of the Ministry of Information do not refer to Israel as the "enemy" or "Zionist entity." He revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with Israel at the intelligence/security level (i.e., with Mossad), and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move forward in other areas, although it will be difficult for Bahrain to be the first.

The cable: I had to omit the term 'friendly' which was originally in the title because although the Guardian article cited below refers to the ties between the king and the Mossad as 'friendly', the term is not found in the cable. But it doesn't change the fact that the conversation recounted in the cable confirms Arab monarchies' friendly stance toward Israel and shed a crude light on the current events in Bahrain.

Another cable seen by the Guardian reveals that the King of Bahrain, whose Arab state has recently been shaken by protests, has had friendly links with the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.

The cables report a private talk between the then US ambassador, William Monroe, and King Hamad of Bahrain in the king's palace on 15 February 2005. Monroe reported back to Washington: "He [the king] revealed that Bahrain already has contacts with Israel at the intelligence/security level (ie with Mossad) and indicated that Bahrain will be willing to move forward in other areas."