Middle East Saber Rattling

When President Obama announced the withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq by the end of the year, Republicans sharply criticized him. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also announced that the door wasn’t irrevocably closed: There would be negotiations with Baghdad to keep up to 20,000 soldiers in the country because of the region’s importance. Plus, he reminded everyone that U.S. troops would still have a presence in countries near Iraq and they would be augmented by the troops leaving Iraq. The Obama administration is striving for no less than a “new security structure” in the Gulf region, according to The New York Times.

The new structure would include military cooperation in areas such as missile defense and naval patrols between the oil-producing nations Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. New combat units are to be stationed in Kuwait that will be capable not only of operations in Iraq but could also be deployed in any possible future confrontation with Iran. How minor a role the defense of human rights, so prominent in uprisings in other Arab nations, plays in these plans is exemplified by the situation in Bahrain where every protest demonstration is brutally put down by government forces. Despite that, the United States is working toward a plan to deliver $53 million worth of weaponry and military equipment to Bahrain.

It’s no wonder: Bahrain is the home port of the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet.