For the second time in two weeks violence has broken out in a restive Arab ally of the United States, confronting the Obama administration with the question of how harshly to condemn a friendly leader who is resisting street protests against his government ... At least five people were killed early Thursday when heavily armed riot police officers fired shotguns and concussion grenades into a crowd ...
... What the administration does with Bahrain is likely to be a telling indicator of how it will deal with the balance between protecting its strategic interests, and promoting democracy — a balance some critics said it never properly struck in its sometimes awkward response to the Egyptian turmoil. What will make this diplomatic maneuvering even more complicated is Bahrain’s proximity to Saudi Arabia, another Sunni monarchy with even greater strategic value to the United States.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/world/middleeast/ 18diplomacy.html
I would suggest that the dilemma, as stated in bold above, suggests that the government always chooses one, and if the other follows, then bully for us.
* The above cited article was expanded later that day under the title "Bahrain Turmoil Poses Fresh Test for White House", available here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/18/world/middleeast/18bahrain.html
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