Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
October 3, 2014
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
95-1013
Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
Summary
The uprising against Bahrain’s Al Khalifa royal family that began on February 14, 2011, has not
achieved the goals of the mostly Shiite opposition to establish a constitutional monarchy but has
defied government efforts to end the unrest. Demonstrations continue, although they have become
smaller and less frequent over the past few years, as Bahrain’s Shiites seek to pressure the Sunni-
dominated government to increase Shiite political influence and rights. The government has
enacted those reforms that do not fundamentally dilute its authority, and has continued to
prosecute and intimidate opposition leaders. The crisis has demonstrated that the grievances of
the Shiite majority over the distribution of power and economic opportunities have not been
satisfied by modest reforms. And, since 2012, violent factions of oppositionists have emerged and
become more organized, claiming responsibility for increasingly frequent bombings and other
violent attacks primarily against security officials.
The government and opposition have attempted to resolve the unrest through two “national
dialogues” (July 2011 and February to December 2013), but neither reached a comprehensive
solution. A November 2011 report by a government-appointed “Independent Commission of
Inquiry” (BICI) criticized the government’s actions against the unrest, but outside human rights
groups assessed that overall implementation of the 26 BICI recommendations has been modest.
Still, both sides have left the door open to further dialogue and engagement, and the government
appears to be trying to persuade mainstream opposition groups to compete in the next
parliamentary elections to be held on November 22, 2014.
The unrest in Bahrain has presented a policy dilemma for the Obama Administration because
Bahrain is a pivotal ally. It has hosted the U.S. naval headquarters for the Gulf since 1946. The
United States has had a formal Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) with Bahrain since 1991
and has designated it a “major non-NATO ally.” There are about 7,000 U.S. forces in Bahrain,
mostly located at the naval headquarters site. Apparently to pressure the government to reduce its
use of force against protesters, the Administration has held up some sales to Bahrain of arms that
could be used for internal security purposes. The Administration has continued sales of equipment
that are exclusively for external defense. Bahrain’s opposition asserts that the United States is
downplaying regime abuses in order to protect this extensive security relationship. A sign that the
defense relationship has been unaffected by differences over Bahrain’s handling of the unrest, in
September 2014 Bahrain joined the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State organization by
conducting air strikes against Islamic State positions in Syria.
Consumed by its own crisis, Bahrain has generally deferred to other GCC powers to resolve
political crises in the region. Bahrain has criticized the Shiite-led governments of both Iraq and
Syria for causing the rise of the Islamic State organization by repressing Sunnis. Bahraini leaders
argue that Bahrain’s participation in air operations against the Islamic State organization in Syria
does not contradict the view that the key to resolving the overall conflict in Syria is the ouster of
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
Fueling Shiite unrest is the fact that Bahrain is poorer than most of the other Persian Gulf
monarchies and therefore has lacked ample resources to easily and significantly improve Shiite
standards of living. In 2004, the United States and Bahrain signed a free trade agreement (FTA);
legislation implementing it was signed January 11, 2006 (P.L. 109-169). The unrest has further
strained, although not crippled, Bahrain’s economy.
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Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
Contents
The Political Structure, Reform, and Human Rights ....................................................................... 1
The Ruling Family and Its Dynamics ........................................................................................ 1
Executive and Legislative Powers ............................................................................................. 2
Political Groups and Elections .................................................................................................. 3
Pre-Uprising Elections ........................................................................................................ 5
2011 Uprising: Origin, Developments, and Prognosis .............................................................. 6
Crown Prince Salman’s “Seven Principles” Reform Plan ................................................... 7
The Saudi-led Intervention .................................................................................................. 7
“National Dialogue” Begun and Inquiry Commission Established .................................... 8
Dialogue Recommendations Produce Constitutional Amendments .................................... 9
The BICI Report and Implementation Process .................................................................... 9
Second National Dialogue ................................................................................................. 12
2014 Developments ........................................................................................................... 12
Emergence of Violent Underground Groups Cloud Outlook ............................................ 14
U.S. Posture on the Uprising ............................................................................................. 16
Other Human Rights Issues ..................................................................................................... 19
Women’s Rights ................................................................................................................ 19
Religious Freedom ............................................................................................................ 20
Media Freedoms ................................................................................................................ 20
Labor Rights ...................................................................................................................... 21
Human Trafficking ............................................................................................................ 21
Executions and Torture ...................................................................................................... 21
U.S.-Bahrain Security and Foreign Policy Relations ..................................................................... 22
U.S. Naval Headquarters in Bahrain ....................................................................................... 22
Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) ................................................................................. 24
U.S. Arms Transfers and Military Aid ..................................................................................... 25
Foreign Military Financing (FMF) .................................................................................... 25
Excess Defense Articles (EDA) ........................................................................................ 26
International Military Education and Training Funds (IMET) .......................................... 26
Major Foreign Military Sales (FMS) from Bahrain National Funds ................................. 26
Post-Uprising U.S. Sales Policy ........................................................................................ 27
Foreign Policy Issues ............................................................................................................... 28
GCC/Saudi Arabia/Qatar ................................................................................................... 28
Iran .................................................................................................................................... 30
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State Organization ............................................................................... 32
Arab-Israeli Issues ............................................................................................................. 33
Other Regional Issues........................................................................................................ 33
Anti-Terrorism Cooperation .................................................................................................... 34
Economic Issues ............................................................................................................................ 34
Figures
Figure 1. Bahrain ........................................................................................................................... 37
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Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
Tables
Table 1. Comparative Composition of National Assembly.............................................................. 6
Table 2. Status of Prominent Dissidents/Other Metrics of the Uprising ........................................ 15
Table 3. Some Basic Facts About Bahrain ..................................................................................... 36
Table 4. U.S. Assistance to Bahrain ............................................................................................... 36
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 37
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Bahrain: Reform, Security, and U.S. Policy
The Political Structure, Reform, and Human Rights1
The site of the ancient Bronze Age civilization of Dilmun, Bahrain was a trade hub linking
Mesopotamia and the Indus valley until a drop in trade from India caused the Dilmun civilization
to decline around 2,000 B.C. The inhabitants of Bahrain converted to Islam in the 7th century.
Bahrain subsequently fell under the control of Islamic caliphates based in Damascus, then
Baghdad, and later Persian, Omani, and Portuguese forces.
The Al Khalifa family, which is Sunni Muslim and generally not as religiously conservative as the
leaders of neighboring Saudi Arabia, has ruled Bahrain since 1783. That year, the family, a branch
of the Bani Utbah tribe, arrived from the Saudi peninsula and succeeded in capturing a Persian
garrison controlling the island. In 1830, the ruling family signed a treaty establishing Bahrain as a
protectorate of Britain, which was the dominant power in the Persian Gulf until the early 1970s.
As Britain began reducing its responsibilities in the Gulf in 1968, Bahrain and other Persian Gulf
emirates (principalities) began deciding on their permanent status. A 1970 U.N. survey (some
refer to it as a “referendum”) determined that Bahrain’s inhabitants preferred independence to
Iranian control. Despite that domestic sentiment, in 1971, Bahrain negotiated with other Persian
Gulf emirates that ultimately (end of 1971) formed the United Arab Emirates. Difficulties
throughout 1971 in reaching agreement on a broad federation caused Bahrain to decide to declare
itself independent on August 15, 1971. A U.S. Embassy in Manama, Bahrain’s capital, opened in
September 1971 in conjunction with Bahrain’s independence.
The Ruling Family and Its Dynamics
Bahrain is led by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa (about 62 years old), who succeeded his father,
Shaykh Isa bin Sulman Al Khalifa, upon his death in March 1999. Educated at Sandhurst Military
Academy in Britain, King Hamad was previously commander of the Bahraini Defense Forces
(BDF). The king is considered to be a reformer, but some observers consider him a relatively
weak leader unwilling to override hardline, anti-reform Khalifa family members.
The Kings’s son, Shaykh Salman bin Hamad, about 46 years old, is Crown Prince. On March 11,
2013, he was appointed first deputy Prime Minister concurrently. Shaykh Salman is U.S.- and
U.K.-educated and has long been considered a proponent of accommodation with Bahrain’s
Shiites, who constitute a majority of about 600,000 citizens.2 Citizens are about half of the overall
population, and the remainder are expatriates mainly from South and East Asia and other parts of
the Middle East. Bahrain’s Shiite Muslims have long asserted they are treated as “second class
citizens,” deprived of a proportionate share of political power and the nation’s economic wealth.
About 25% of the citizen population is age 14 or younger.
1 Much of the information in this section is from State Department Human Rights Report for 2013, released February
27, 2014 (http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2013&dlid=220348#wrapper). CRS
has no means of independently investigating the human rights situation in Bahrain.
2 Government officials dispute that the Shiite community is as large a majority as the 70% figure used in most
factbooks and academic work on Bahrain. The Shiite community in Bahrain consists of the more numerous “Baharna,”
who are of Arab ethnicity and descended from Arab tribes who inhabited the area from pre-Islamic times. Shiites of
Persian ethnicity, referred to as Ajam, arrived in Bahrain over the past 400 years and are less numerous than the
Baharna. The Ajam speak Persian and generally do not integrate with the Baharna or with Sunni Arabs.
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The King’s uncle (the brother of the late Amir Isa), Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al
Khalifa, has been in position since Bahrain’s independence in 1971. He is about 82 years old but
still highly active. He is aligned with family hard-liners that include Minister of the Royal Court
Khalid bin Ahmad bin Salman Al Khalifa3 and his brother the Commander of the BDF Khalifa
bin Ahmad Al Khalifa. The two brothers are known as “Khawalids”—they hail from a branch of
the Al Khalifa family that is traced to an ancestor Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa—and are considered
implacably opposed to compromise with the Shiites.4 The Khawalids reportedly have allies
throughout the security and intelligence services and the judiciary, including for example the
Royal Court Minister’s protégé, Ahmad bin Ateyatallah Al Khalifa (Royal Court minister for
“follow-up affairs”). Hard liners within and outside the family assert that concessions made to the
Shiite majority since 1999 caused the Shiites to increase their political demands rather than
satisfied them. In September 2013, Bahrain appointed Lt. Col. Abdullah bin Muhammad bin
Rashid, a subordinate of the BDF commander and purported hardliner, to become Ambassador to
the United States.
The Crown Prince has a substantial network of allies, who assert that the level of unrest reached
in 2011 would have occurred long ago had the King’s earlier reforms not been enacted. Allies of
the Crown Prince include deputy Prime Minister, Muhammad bin Mubarak Al Khalifa and
Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmad bin Muhammad Al Khalifa.5 The faction appeared to be
strengthened by the March 2013 appointment of Crown Prince Salman as first deputy Prime
Minister, a newly created position.
Executive and Legislative Powers
The King, working through the Prime Minister and the cabinet, has broad powers. The King,
through the Prime Minister, makes all cabinet appointments. Al Khalifa family members have
consistently held about half of all ministerial slots, including all defense, internal security, and
foreign policy positions. Before the 2011 unrest, there were only 4 Shiite ministers out of 23
cabinet positions (plus one out of the four deputy prime ministers), and those ministries run by
Shiites have been considered less critical. The number of Shiite ministers was increased to six in
2012, in part as a gesture to the opposition. Shiites have also been highly underrepresented in the
security forces, serving mainly in administrative tasks. The King appoints all judges by royal
decree and he has the authority to amend the constitution.
As Hamad’s first reform steps upon taking office, he assumed the title of King—a leadership title
that implies more accountability to the population than the traditional title “Amir.” He held a
referendum on February 14, 2002, that adopted a “National Action Charter,” including the text of
a constitution. However, many Shiites criticized the constitution because it established that the
elected Council of Representatives (COR)6 and the all-appointed Shura (Consultative) Council
were of equal size (40 seats each). Together, they constitute a National Assembly (parliament).
The government has tended to appoint generally more educated and pro-Western members to the
Shura Council, and it is generally more supportive of the government than is the COR, which
3 The name of this official is similar to that of the Foreign Minister, Khalid bin Ahmad bin Mohammad Al Khalifa.
4 Differences between the khawalids and others in the family are discussed in, Charles Levinson. “A Palace Rift in
Persian Gulf Bedevils Key U.S. Navy Base.” Wall Street Journal, February 20, 2013.
5 The foreign minister’s name is similar to, but slightly different from, that of the hardline Royal Court Minister.
6 This body is also referred to as the Council of Deputies (Majles al-Nawwab).
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explains why the opposition seeks maximum authority for the COR. There is no “quota” for
females in the National Assembly.
• The Assembly serves as only a partial check on government power, despite
constitutional amendments adopted in May 2012 that gave the Assembly greater
authority. The amendments declared the elected COR as the presiding chamber of
the Assembly, thereby giving it the lead when the two chambers disagree.
• The National Assembly has the power to confirm individual cabinet
appointments. However, as a consequence of the May 2012 amendments, it does
have the power to reject the government’s four-year work plan—and therefore
the whole cabinet. The COR has always had the power to remove sitting
ministers through a vote of no-confidence (requiring a two-thirds majority). The
COR can also, by a similar super-majority, declare that it cannot “cooperate”
with the Prime Minister, but the King then rules on whether to dismiss the Prime
Minister or disband the COR. None of these actions has ever been taken.
• Either chamber of the National Assembly can originate legislation but enactment
into law requires concurrence by the King.7 Prior to the May 2012 amendments,
only the COR could originate legislation. A royal “veto” can be overridden by a
two-thirds majority vote of both chambers. A decree issued by the king on August
23, 2012, gives the National Assembly the ability to recommend constitutional
amendments, which are then vetted by a “Legislation and Legal Opinion
Commission” before consideration by the king.
The adoption of the National Charter and other early reforms instituted by King Hamad, although
still short of the expectations of the Shiite majority, were more extensive than those made by his
father, Amir Isa. Amir Isa’s most significant reform was his establishment of a 30-member all-
appointed Consultative Council in December 1992. The Council mandate was to comment on
proposed laws. In June 1996, he expanded it to 40 members. However, his action did not come
close to satisfying the demands of both Shiites and Sunnis for the restoration of an elected
national assembly, which had been established following the adoption of the 1973 constitution but
was abolished in August 1975 because of sectarian tensions within it. Amir Isa’s refusal to restore
an elected Assembly contributed to the daily anti-government violence during 1994-1998,
conducted mostly by Shiites.
Political Groups and Elections
Government-opposition disputes over organizing the COR elections predate the 2011 uprising.
The Shiite opposition has sought to establish electoral processes that would allow Shiites to
translate their numbers into political strength. Elections have been held every four years since
2002, each time marked by substantial tension over perceived government efforts to prevent
election of a Shiite majority. In the COR elections, if no candidate in a contested district wins
more than 50% in the first round, a runoff is held one week later.
Formal political parties are banned, but factions organize, for the elections and other political
activity, as “political societies”—the functional equivalent of parties:
7 Before the May 2012 constitutional amendments, only the COR could draft legislation.
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• Wifaq, formally, the Al Wifaq (Accord) National Islamic Society, is the largest
and most prominent Shiite political society. It is considered a relatively moderate
opposition faction and has participated in national dialogue with the government
and royal family. Wifaq’s leaders, including Secretary-General and Shiite cleric
Shaykh Ali al-Salman, have been pressured by the regime. Salman, who is about
45 years old, was slightly injured by security forces during a protest in June 2012
and he was arrested in November and in December 2013 for “insulting
authorities” and “incitement to religious hatred,” respectively. His deputy leader,
Khalil al-Marzuq, was arrested in September 2013, for “inciting terrorism” in an
anti-government speech, but was acquitted in June 2014. Another of Wifaq’s top
figures, the 75-year-old Shiite cleric Isa Qasim, is considered a hardliner who has
opposed government proposals to settle the crisis. His home was raided by the
regime in May 2013. On July 20, 2014, the government filed suit to bar Wifaq
from operating for a three month period—during which it could correct alleged
breaches of Bahrain’s law on political societies.
• Wifaq Allies. A number of Shiite factions are allied with Wifaq and have similarly
participated in dialogue with the regime. They include the National Democratic
Action Society, the National Democratic Assembly, the Democratic Progressive
Tribune, and Al Ekhaa.
• Al Haq (Movement of Freedom and Democracy), another Shiite faction, is
outlawed because of its calls for outright change of regime and has boycotted all
the COR elections. However, it is smaller in membership than Wifaq. Its key
leaders are wheelchair-bound Dr. Abduljalil Alsingace and Hassan Mushaima,
both of whom are alleged by the government to have ties to Iran. Both have been
imprisoned since the February 2011 uprising. Prior to the uprising, Alsingace had
visited the United States several times to discuss the human rights situation in
Bahrain.
• The Bahrain Islamic Action Society, a small Shiite faction, also is an outlawed
faction. It is a successor to the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Bahrain
(IFLB), a party purportedly linked Iran-backed extremist actions in Bahrain the
1980s and 1990s. Another IFLB offshoot, Amal, is known as the “Shirazi
faction” for its ties to radical Shiite clerics in Iran linked to Ayatollah Shirazi.
Amal’s leader, Shaykh Muhammad Ali al-Mafoodh, has been in prison since
2011 and Amal was outlawed in 2012.
• Waad (“promise”) is a left-leaning secular political society whose members are
both Sunni and Shiite and is generally aligned with Wifaq as an opposition party.
Waad’s leader, Ibrahim Sharif, has been in prison since 2011.
• Sunni opinion is generally represented by the government. There are some Sunni
political societies that support it, but in some cases criticize the government for
concessions to the Shiite majority. Two Sunni societies are considered Islamist:
Minbar (Arabic for “platform”), which is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood,
and Al Asala, which is a harder-line “Salafist” political society. As noted below,
in the 2006-2010 parliament, Asala and Minbar members held a combined 15
seats. In June 2011, another Sunni grouping formed as a response to the Shiite-
led 2011 uprising, organized as a pro-government political society called the
National Unity Gathering/National Unity Association. Other Sunni factions that
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support these groups include Al Saff, the Islamic Shura Society, and the Al Wasat
Al Arabi Islamic Society.
Pre-Uprising Elections
Several elections were held during 2002-2010 which suggested to some outside observers that
political differences in Bahrain could be resolved electorally and legislatively.
• 2002 Election. The first elections under the Charter were held in October 2002.
In the 2002 election, many Shiite opposition political societies, including Wifaq,
boycotted the elections on the grounds that setting the COR and the Shura
Council at the same size dilutes popular will. The 2002 boycott lowered turnout
(about 52%) and helped Sunnis win two-thirds of the 40 COR seats. Of the 170
total candidates, 8 were women, but none of the women was elected.
• 2006 Elections Sunni-Shiite tensions escalated in advance of the November 25,
2006, parliamentary and municipal elections, aggravated by the Bahraini Shiite
perception that a Shiite majority came to power in Iraq through U.S.-backed
elections. The Bahrain election was clouded by allegations, publicly corroborated
by a government adviser (Salah al-Bandar) in August 2006, that the government
was adjusting election districts to favor Sunni candidates. It was also alleged the
government had issued passports to Sunnis in an attempt to shift the demographic
balance to the Sunnis’ advantage. Still, Wifaq and some other Shiite societies
participated, producing a 72% turnout. The Shiite opposition won 17 seats,
virtually all those it contested, becoming the largest single bloc in the COR
although still short of a majority. Sunni Muslims won 23 total seats, a slight
majority. Of those, eight were secular Sunnis and 15 were Islamists. One woman,
who was unopposed in her district, was elected out of 18 female candidates.
Wifaq boycotted the speakership contest and incumbent COR Speaker Khalifa al-
Dhahrani was reelected. The King subsequently named a new Shura Council with
20 Shiites, 19 Sunnis, and one Christian (a female). Ten of the appointees were
women. In a nod to the increased Shiite numbers in the COR, the government
appointed a Shiite as one of four deputy prime ministers and another, a Wifaq
supporter, as a minister of state for foreign affairs.
• The 2010 Elections. The tensions in this election foreshadowed the uprising that
began in February 2011. The two-round COR vote was held on October 23 and
October 30, 2010. Two Bahraini human rights watchdog groups, the Bahrain
Human Rights Society and the Bahrain Transparency Society, jointly monitored
the elections, along with some international observers. Municipal elections were
held concurrently. The electorate was about 300,000 persons, voting in 40
districts spread throughout five governorates. Shiite oppositionists again accused
the government of drawing boundaries to favor Sunni candidates. Of the 200
candidates registered, six were women, but only one of the women—
oppositionist Munira Fakhro—was endorsed by a political society (Waad). Wifaq
participated despite the arrests of 23 Shiite leaders the previous month under a
2006 anti-terrorism law. Turnout was about 67%. The election increased Wifaq’s
representation to 18 seats, although still not a majority; reduced Sunni Islamists
to five seats from 15; and empowered by Sunni independents, who won 17 seats,
up from nine in the 2006-2010 parliament. The same one woman won who had
won in 2006. In the municipal elections conducted concurrently, one woman was
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elected in the second round—the first woman to be elected to a municipal
council.
In advance of the December 14, 2010, start of the parliamentary term, the King reappointed 30 of
the 40 serving Shura Council members and ten new members. Of its membership, 19 were
Shiites, including the speaker, Ali bin Salih al-Salih. The Council has four women, substantially
fewer than the 2006-2010 Council that had nine. Among the four, one is Jewish (Nancy
Khadouri), out of a Jewish population in Bahrain of about 40 persons, and one is Christian (Hala
Qarrisah). Bahrain has an estimated 1,000 Christians.
Table 1. Comparative Composition of National Assembly
Post-By-Election
2006
2010
(October 2011)
Council of Representatives (COR)
Wifaq (Shiite Islamist)
17
18
0
Shi te
Independent
0 0 8
Sunni Independent (mostly
secular) in COR
8
17
27
Moderate Sunni Islamist
(Minbar, Muslim
Brotherhood) 7 2 2
Conservative Sunni
Islamist (Asala, Salafi)
8
3
3
COR Sect Composition
23 Sunni, 17 Shiite
22 Sunni, 18 Shiite
32 Sunni, 8 Shiite
Women in COR
1
1
4
Shura Council (Upper House, appointed)
Sectarian, Religious
Composition Upper
20 Shi te, 19 Sunni, 1
19 Shi te, 19 Sunni, 1
House (Shura Council)
Christian
Christian, 1 Jew
Same as before
Number of Women
9
4
same
2011 Uprising: Origin, Developments, and Prognosis
King Hamad’s efforts to satisfy Shiite aspirations were demonstrated to have failed when a major
uprising began on February 14, 2011, in the aftermath of the toppling of Egypt’s President Hosni
Mubarak.8 After a few days of minor confrontations with security forces, mostly Shiite
demonstrators converged on the interior of a major traffic circle, “Pearl Roundabout,” named
after a statue there depicting Bahrain’s pearl-diving past. The protesters demanded altering the
constitution to expand the powers of the COR; ending gerrymandering of election districts to
favor Sunnis; providing more jobs and economic opportunities; and replacing hard-line Prime
8 The events of the uprising, and the government’s political and security reaction, are examined in substantial detail in
the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report released November 23, 2011. Text of the report is at
http://files.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf.
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Minister Khalifa. On February 15, 2011, King Hamad formed a committee to investigate the use
of force against protestors, which had killed two by that time.
The unrest escalated on February 17, 2011, when security forces used rubber bullets and tear gas
to remove thousands of demonstrators from Pearl Roundabout. Four demonstrators were killed.
Additional protests took place on February 18, 2011, with several protesters shot. Wifaq pulled all
18 deputies out of the COR, and Britain closed its embassy and banned arms exports to Bahrain.
In part at the reported urging of the United States, on February 19, 2011, the government pulled
security forces back, and demonstrators reentered the Roundabout. On February 22 and 25, 2011,
demonstrations said to be perhaps the largest in Bahrain’s history were held. These followed a
large demonstration on February 21, 2011, by government supporters. (Wifaq and other Shiite
groups boycotted a September–October 2011 special election to fill those seats, producing a COR
with 32 Sunni to only 8 Shiite-held seats.)
The government, with Crown Prince Salman leading the effort, invited the representatives of the
protesters to begin a formal dialogue. That effort was supported by a gesture by King Hamad on
February 22, 2011, to release or pardon 308 Bahrainis, including Al Haq leader Mushaima,
paving the way for him to return from exile. On February 26, 2011, the King dropped two Al
Khalifa family members from cabinet posts as a gesture to the opposition.
Crown Prince Salman’s “Seven Principles” Reform Plan
On March 13, 2011, Crown Prince Salman articulated “seven principles” that would guide a
national dialogue, including a “parliament with full authority”; a “government that meets the will
of the people”; fair voting districts; and several other measures.9 The articulation of the seven
principles gave Wifaq and other moderate oppositionists hope that many of their demands could
be met through dialogue. However, anger at the government’s use of force appeared to shift many
demonstrators closer to hardline groups such as Al Haq that demanded an end to the monarchy.10
The Saudi-led Intervention
With Shiite groups refusing to accept the offer of dialogue, protests escalated and sparked broader
Sunni-Shiite clashes. On March 13, 2011, protesters blockaded the financial district of the capital,
Manama, prompting governmental fears that this major economic sector could be harmed.
Bahrain requested that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), of which it is a member, send
security forces to protect key sites and, on March 14, 2011, a GCC force (from the GCC joint
Peninsula Shield unit) spearheaded by a reported 1,200 Saudi armored forces and 600 UAE
police crossed into Bahrain and took up positions at key locations. Kuwait sent naval forces to
help Bahrain secure its maritime borders. On March 15, 2011, King Hamad declared (Royal
Decree Number 18) a three-month state of emergency. Bahrain’s security forces, freed up by the
GCC deployment, cleared demonstrators from Pearl Roundabout and demolished the Pearl
Monument on March 18, 2011.11 That action caused Shiite ministers in the cabinet, many of the
9 BICI report, op. cit., p. 165.
10 “Bahrain Hard-Liners Call for Royal Family to Go.” Cable News Network website, March 9, 2011.
11 Some accounts differ on the involvement of the Peninsula Shield force, with some observers arguing that members of
the force participated directly in suppressing protests, and others accepting the Bahrain/GCC view that the GCC force
guarded key locations and infrastructure.
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Shiites in the Shura Council, and many other senior Shiites, to resign. Most public protests in
downtown Manama ceased.
Perceiving he had regained the upper hand, the King announced in May 2011 that the state of
emergency would end on June 1, 2011, two weeks earlier than scheduled. The GCC forces began
to depart in late June 2011, although some, including some of the UAE police, remained to
bolster Bahraini security force ranks. King Hamad spoke to the population on May 31, 2011, to
mark the end of the emergency, offering unconditional dialogue with the opposition beginning
July 1, 2011. The GCC intervention represented an escalation from earlier steps to help the
Bahrain government. They had earlier about $20 billion to help both Bahrain (and Oman, which
also faced unrest) create jobs. In April 2013, Kuwait pledged an additional $1.3 billion for
development projects in Bahrain.
“National Dialogue” Begun and Inquiry Commission Established
On June 29, 2011, as a significant gesture toward the opposition and international critics, the king
named a five-person “Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry,” (BICI) headed by highly
regarded international legal expert Dr. Cherif Bassiouni, to investigate the government’s response
to the unrest. The BICI held a public forum on July 24, 2011, but came under criticism from
Shiite oppositionists who interpreted certain Bassiouni statements as exonerating top officials.
The formation of the BICI set the stage for the “National Dialogue” on political and economic
reform that began on July 2, 2011, under the chairmanship of speaker of the COR Dhahrani.
About 300 delegates participated, of which the Shiite opposition broadly comprised 40-50
delegates, of which 5 belonged to Wifaq.12 Over several weeks, the dialogue addressed political,
economic, social, and human rights issues that government officials said was intended to outline a
vision of Bahrain rather than specific steps. The detention of many oppositionists clouded the
meetings, and Wifaq exited the talks on July 18, 2011. Others noted that the Crown Prince did not
chair the meetings, suggesting he was eclipsed by hard line figures within the royal family.
The dialogue concluded in late July 2011 after reaching consensus on the following
recommendations, which were endorsed by the government on July 29, 2011.
• an elected parliament (lower house) with expanded powers, including the power
to confirm or reject a nominated cabinet; the power to confirm or veto the
government’s four-year work plan; the right to discuss any agenda item; and the
power for the full COR to question ministers on their performance or plans. In
addition, the overall chairmanship of the National Assembly should be exercised
by the elected COR, not the Shura Council.
• a government “reflecting the will of the people.”
• “fairly” demarcated electoral boundaries.
• reworking of laws on naturalization and citizenship.
• combating financial and administrative corruption.
• efforts to reduce sectarian divisions.
12 Mohamed Hasni. “Bahrain Opens Dialogue Buoyed by Shiite Attendance.” Agence France Presse, July 2, 2011.
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There were reportedly 82 economic recommendations, including new mechanisms to provide
food subsidies to only the most needy citizens.
As a gesture of reconciliation after the dialogue concluded, in a speech on August 28, 2011, near
the conclusion of the holy month of Ramadan, King Hamad announced the pardoning of some
protesters and the reinstatement of some of the approximately 2,700 of those who had been fired
for alleged participation in unrest. On August 8, 2011, the government released the two jailed
Wifaq COR deputies, Matar and Fairuz, along with several other activists.
“Manama Document” Opposition Proposal. Wifaq and other Shiite opposition groups rejected
the outcome of the national dialogue as failing to fulfill even the Crown Prince’s offer of a
parliament with “full authority.” The groups, led by Wifaq and Waad, unveiled their own
proposals—the “Manama Document”—on October 12, 2011. The manifesto called for a fully
elected one-chamber parliament with legislative powers, the direct selection of the prime minister
by the largest coalition in the elected legislature, and the running of elections by an independent
election commission. The opposition also viewed the government’s pledge of “fairly demarcated”
election boundaries as vague, and likely to enable the government to continue to gerrymander
districts to ensure a Sunni majority in the lower house.
Dialogue Recommendations Produce Constitutional Amendments
Despite the opposition’s criticism of the dialogue results, the government appointed a committee,
headed by deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Mubarak Al Khalifa, to implement the consensus
recommendations. After rounds of meetings between both houses of the National Assembly and
various ministries, the King announced draft amendments to the Bahraini constitution on January
16, 2012. They were adopted by the National Assembly, and ratified by the King on May 3, 2012.
The amendments:
• Imposed limitations on the power of the king to appoint the members of the
Shura Council, and a requirement that he consult the heads of the two chambers
of the National Assembly before dissolving the COR.
• Gave either chamber of the National Assembly the ability to draft legislation or
constitutional amendments.
• Changed the overall chair of the National Assembly to the speaker of the elected
COR instead of the chairman of the appointed Shura Council.
• Gave the COR the ability to veto the government’s four-year work plan—
essentially an ability to veto the nomination of the entire cabinet—without the
concurrence of the Shura Council. This was an expansion of previous powers to
vote no confidence against individual ministers.
The BICI Report and Implementation Process
In addition to the dialogue, the government looked to the BICI report to help resolve the crisis,
even though the mission of the BICI focused on government handling of the unrest rather than on
ideas for political reform. It was initially due by October 30, 2011, but was released on November
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23, 2011. The 500+ page report provided some support for the narratives of both sides in the
crisis, and recommendations, including13
• There was “systematic” and “deliberate” use of excessive force, including torture
and forced confessions, against protesters.
• The opposition articulated additional demands as the uprising progressed.
• The government did not provide evidence to establish a link between the unrest
in Bahrain and the government of Iran. (p. 378)
• There was no evidence of human rights abuses committed by the GCC forces that
intervened at the request of the Bahraini government. (p. 378)
The report contained 26 recommendations (pp. 411-415) to try to prevent future violence against
peaceful protesters and to hold accountable those responsible for abuses against protesters. In
keeping with the BICI’s mandate, the recommendations did not address the political structure of
Bahrain. Apparently recognizing that it would be judged by the international community on its
response to the report, King Hamad issued a statement accepting the criticism and promising full
implementation of the recommendations. Wifaq criticized it as failing to state that abuse of
protesters were deliberate government policy.
On November 26, 2011, the King issued a decree to establish a 19-member National Commission
to oversee implementation of the recommendations, chaired by Shura Council Chairman Ali al-
Salih (a Shiite). He also announced that the “National Human Rights Institution,” established in
2010, would be fully independent of the government. Subsequently, a “Follow-Up Unit,” headed
by Ms. Dana Al Zayani, was established by the Ministry of Justice.14 According to these
governmental bodies, the regime implemented the vast majority of the 26 BICI
recommendations.15 However, a study by the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED),
issued on the one-year anniversary of the BICI recommendations, found that the government had
fully implemented only three of the recommendations, partially implemented 15, not
implemented six at all, and two others had “unclear” implementation.16 This more critical
assessment was supported by BICI chair Bassiouni in public comments marking the one-year
anniversary of the report. The conference report on the FY2013 defense authorization act (P.L.
112-239, signed January 2, 2013) directed the Secretary of State to report to Congress within 180
days of enactment (by July 2, 2013) on Bahrain’s implementation of the BICI recommendations.
(A formal provision of the law to this effect was taken out in conference and substituted with
conference report language to the same effect.) The report was submitted but not made public;17
press reports indicate that it concluded that the government had fully implemented five out of the
26 recommendations—a finding broadly similar to those of POMED.18
The recommendations that observers agree were fully implemented include
13 http://files.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf.
14 The Follow-Up Unit’s June report can be found at http://www.iaa.bh/downloads/bici_followup_report_en.pdf.
15 The full text of the National Commission’s March 20, 2012, report is at http://www.biciactions.bh/wps/portal/BICI/.
16 POMED. “One Year Later: Assessing Bahrain’s Implementation of the BICI Report.” November 2012.
17 Author conversation with congressional staff, July 2013.
18 http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/14/the_peril_of_ignoring_bahrain_s_iron_fist.
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• Stripping the National Security Agency of law enforcement powers and limiting
it to purely intelligence gathering. That occurred with the issuing of an
amendment to the 2002 decree establishing that agency. The head of the
organization was removed and replaced by Adel bin Khalifa Al Fadhil, a non-
royal. The arrest powers were transferred to the Ministry of Interior.
• Drafting and providing training on a code of conduct for the police, based on
international best practices. The government hired former Miami police chief
John Timoney and former British police chief John Yates to teach Bahraini police
tactics and techniques that conform to international standards of human rights
practices. However, the State Department’s human rights report for 2012, issued
on April 19, 2013, said that the Ministry of Interior’s enforcement of the code of
conduct is unclear.19
• Training judiciary employees and prosecutors on preventing and eradicating
torture and ill-treatment.
There appears to be broad agreement among observers that the government has not implemented
several recommendations (5, 8, 10, 14, 22, and 24) that address investigation and prevention of
torture, detention without prompt access to legal counsel, dropping charges on those who
protested but did not use violence, and allowing the opposition free expression and access to
media.
Most of the recommendations fall into an intermediate category of partial implementation:
• Holding security officials accountable for abuses (recommendations No. 2 and
No. 7). There appears to be agreement that the government has shielded high-
ranking officials from prosecution.
• Referral of all cases of security personnel who committed major abuses to the
public prosecutor for subsequent prosecution. In March 2013, two police officers
were sentenced to 10 years in prison for fatally beating protesters in 2011. In July
2013, the government appointed Nawaf al-Maawdah as the Ministry of Interior
Ombudsman to examine complaints filed against security personnel for causing
death or physical harm. In May 2014, the Ombudsman’s officie issued its first
report, stating that 45 Ministry personnel had been referred for prosecution by
various courts.20
• Establishment of new procedures to record interrogations of detainees (No. 13).
• Integrating Shiites into the security services (No. 11). On September 17, 2012,
the government announced hiring of 500 police cadets “representing all
communities in Bahrain”—in an effort to address this recommendation.
• Reinstatement of fired workers, public sector employees, and students (No. 18,
No. 19, and No. 20). According to the government, almost all of the over 2,500
19 http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm#wrapper. p.11.
20 http://ombudsman.bh/mcms-store/pdf/610-First%20Annual%20Report%20%202013-2014-2812251.pdf?
utm_source=Project+on+Middle+East+Democracy+-+All+Contacts&utm_campaign=1e97a6b50f-
Bahrain_Weekly_Update_Nov_1_2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_75a06056d7-1e97a6b50f-215946089
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dismissed workers have been reinstated, although Bahraini labor organizations
say some cases of dismissed laborers remain unresolved.
• Establishment of a compensation fund for the victims of torture and families of
deceased victims (No.16 and No. 17). In August 2011, the King announced the
“Civil Settlement Initiative” fund setting aside over $25 million to compensate
these victims.
• The rebuilding of destroyed religious sites (No. 21). At least 5 of the more than
53 Shiite religious sites demolished by the regime during the course of the
uprising have been mostly rebuilt. Rebuilding of another 17 sites is in various
stages of construction.
Second National Dialogue
Continued demonstrations, use of force against them, and increasing incidents of anti-government
violence caused the government and the opposition to seek to resume dialogue. Moderates on
both sides stressed that the Crown Prince’s “Seven Principles,” the national dialogue consensus
recommendations, and the Manama Document had many points in common. The State
Department praised the Crown Prince’s speech at the December 7-8, 2012, Manama Dialogue
(annual international security conference sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic
Studies) calling for a resumption of national dialogue. On January 22, 2013, the King formally
reiterated his earlier calls for a restart of the dialogue and, the same day, Wifaq and five allied
parties (Waad, the National Democratic Gathering Society, the Unitary National Democratic
Assemblage, the Democratic Progressive Tribune, and the Ekhaa National Society) accepted the
invitation.
This dialogue began on February 10, 2013, consisting of twice per week meetings attended by:
the Minister of Justice (an Al Khalifa family member) and two other ministers, eight opposition
representatives (Wifaq and allied parties), eight representatives of pro-government organizations,
and five members of the National Assembly (both the upper and lower house). To facilitate
progress, on March 11, 2013, the King appointed Crown Prince Salman first deputy Prime
Minister—a new position that appeared intended to increase the Crown Prince’s authority.
The second national dialogue quickly bogged down and ultimately produced few results. The
opposition insisted any consensus recommendations be put to a popular referendum, while the
government insisted that agreements be enacted by the National Assembly. The opposition
demanded that the dialogue include authoritative decision makers and representatives of the
King—higher-level figures than the ministers that participated. Opposition participants began
boycotting the talks in mid-September 2013, to protest lack of progress as well as the arrest of
Khalil al-Marzuq, the deputy chief of Wifaq and Wifaq’s representative to the dialogue. The
government formally suspended the dialogue on January 8, 2014.
2014 Developments
Crown Prince Salman sought to quickly revive the dialogue process by meeting with Marzuq and
overall Wifaq leader Shaykh Salman on January 15, 2014. The Crown Prince convened the
meeting despite the fact that both faced criminal charges in separate cases, although a related
travel ban on Salman was lifted subsequent to that meeting. The meeting appeared to address a
main Wifaq demand that political dialogue be conducted with senior Al Khalifa members. The
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Minister of the Royal Court Shaykh Khalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa (see above) subsequently met
with opposition representatives to discuss their proposals for altering the governing structure. The
Royal Court Minister said any renewed dialogue would include a greater number of senior
officials than was the case previously.
Some experts express optimism that a political settlement is still possible. Both the government
and the opposition have at times discussed an interim compromise in which the opposition gains
seats in a new cabinet—although they differ on how many seats. Meetings between Saudi
officials and Bahraini have appeared to signal a softening of Saudi resistance to concessions to
the Bahrain opposition. Still, a widely discussed interim compromise, the replacement of Prime
Minister Khalifa with a more moderate Al Khalifa member, has not been implemented. Some
oppositionists have said they would even accept a Sunni non- royal as a replacement. Throughout
the crisis, some Bahrain government supporters have appeared sympathetic to this compromise.
And, despite the unrest, six Shiites ministers continue to serve in Bahrain’s council of ministers.
Others assert that conditions favor a settlement because demonstrations have become confined
mainly to the Shiite villages ringing Manama. The opposition held three days of large
demonstrations (February 13-15, 2014) to mark the third anniversary of the uprising, but the
demonstrations were largely peaceful. There were no protester deaths, although 29 demonstrators
were arrested on February 14 for trying to converge on the downtown area. Others maintained
that the riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators, indicating that the goals of the BICI process
were not substantially achieved.
And, although a new national dialogue has not convened, to date, the government has made
overtures to try to restart the talks. On September 19, 2014, Crown Prince Salman issued a five-
point “framework” for renewed talks that addressed some opposition demands, centering on (1)
redefining electoral districts; (2) a revised process for appointing the Shura Council; (3) giving
the elected COR new powers to approve or reject the formation of a new cabinet; (4) having
international organizations work Bahrain’s judiciary; and (5) introducing new codes of conduct
for security forces. Opposition political societies rejected the proposals primarily because they
did not offer to reduce the power of the Shura Council relative to the COR, and for not allowing
the elected COR to select a Prime Minister as head of government, instead retaining the system
under which the King appoints the Prime Minister to form a government.
Next Elections in November 2014
A possible indicator of the potential for a settlement will be the next COR elections. On
September 22, the government announced the vote for November 22, with a runoff to be held a
week later. The government also announced that there would be only four electoral districts
instead of five by abolishing the “central governorate” district and redistributing its seat
allocations. Experts said the redistricting might enable the Shiite opposition to win 50% of the 40
seats. The previous districts limited the Shiite opposition to 18 seats (even though Wifaq won
67% of the total vote in the 2010 election). Candidate registration is to take place October 15-19.
The redistricting appeared intended to induce the opposition to participate in the election—a
development that would give the elections substantial legitimacy. Their participating would
require the opposition political factions, including Wifaq, to reverse their May 2014
announcements that they would boycott the elections unless their demands for a fully elected
government (and other demands) were met first. The June 2014 acquittal of deputy Wifaq leader
Marzuq, discussed above, also signaled to some a renewed government effort to engage with
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Wifaq. The government also has continued its legal action against opposition political societies
Wifaq and Waad, possibly indicating it might offer to drop that action if the opposition
participates in the election.
Emergence of Violent Underground Groups Cloud Outlook
Those experts who maintain that a political settlement assert that the uprising might be evolving
into an increasingly organized insurgency. One hardline group, the “14 February Youth Coalition”
(named for the anniversary of the Bahrain uprising) claims to be inspired by the “Tamarod”
(rebel)-led protests in Egypt that prompted the Egyptian military to remove Muslim Brotherhood
president Mohammad Morsi. The Bahraini government asserts that the 14 February Youth
Coalition is a terrorist movement that seeks to overthrow the state, and the movement gave some
support to that assertion when it claimed responsibility for an April 14, 2013, explosion in the
Financial Harbour district. On September 29, 2013, 50 Shiites were sentenced to up to 15 years in
prison for alleged involvement in the 14 February Coalition.
There are several violent groups that include21
• Sayara al-Ashtar (Ashtar Brigades). It issued its first public statement in April
2013 and has since claimed responsibility for twenty bombings against security
personnel. It claimed responsibility for a March 3, 2014, bombing that killed
three police officers who were confronting protesters outside Manama. One of
them was a UAE police officer—part of the contingent that has helped Bahraini
security forces since the 2011 GCC intervention.
• Popular Resistance Brigades. This group also claimed responsibility for the
March 3, 2014, bombing discussed above and openly affiliates with the 14
February Youth Coalition.
• Sayara al-Mukhtar (Mukhtar Brigades). It has claimed responsibility for several
attacks on security forces, including by emplanted Improvised Explosive Devices
(IEDs).
Among other recent bombings carried out by these or other violent oppositionists are: a bomb on
February 14, 2014, the third anniversary of the uprising, that killed one police officer; and a bomb
on March 11, 2014, that wounded two Bahrain police officers.
In concert with the emergence of groups that use violent tactics, the use, storage, and manufacture
of explosives against Bahraini security forces appears to be increasing. On June 14, 2012, the
government discovered bomb-making materials in several locations. On April 29, 2013, the
government claimed to have uncovered an arms warehouse used by oppositionists. On October 7,
2013, a Bahrain court convicted nine Bahraini Shiites linked to the bomb-making facilities
discussed above for “forming a militant group” and making explosives for attacks to destabilize
the Kingdom. On December 30, 2013, following a two-day raid, authorities seized a ship,
originating in Iraq, allegedly carrying Iranian weaponry and bomb-making material for the
Bahrain opposition.22 Pro-government Bahrainis say that the bombings show intent of the
21 Matthew Levitt. “Iran and Bahrain: Crying Wolf, or Wolf at the Door?” Washington Institute for Near East Policy,
May 16, 2014.
22 Sandeep Singh Grewal. Arms Ring is Smashed by Police. Daily News, December 31. 2013.
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opposition to overthrow the regime by any means necessary, whereas the opposition political
societies insist they have no connection to violent underground groups. Saudi Arabia and other
GCC states appear determined to help Bahrain’s government suppress any insurgency.
Table 2. Status of Prominent Dissidents/Other Metrics of the Uprising
Abdul Hadi al-
Arrested April 9, 2011, was one of 13 prominent dissidents tried by state security court
Khawaja, founder
May 8, 2011, and sentenced to life in prison for conspiring to overthrow the government
of Bahrain Center
and for espionage on June 22, 2011. He conducted a hunger strike in prison in early 2012
for Human Rights
but was force fed by Bahraini officials and remains alive. Daughters Zainab and Maryam
have been repeatedly arrested for opposition activities and released, and have campaigned
abroad for their father’s release and for the Shi te opposition generally. His brother, Salah
Abdullah al-Khawaja, was sentenced in June 2011 to five years in prison.
Hassan Mushaima and
Two of the 13 prominent dissidents tried by state security court May 8, 2011, sentenced
Dr. Abduljalil Alsingace,
to life in prison on June 22, 2011. Sentence upheld September 4, 2012. Mushaima’s son
Al Haq leaders
was one of the 31 whose citizenship was revoked in November 2012.
Other prominent
Along with the Khawaja brothers, Mushaima, and Alsingace, the June 22, 2011, sentences
oppositionists sentenced of nine other prominent dissidents were upheld on September 4, 2012, and reaffirmed by
on June 22, 2011
the Court of Cassation on January 8, 2013. Of the nine, four are sentenced to life in
prison—Abdulwahab Ahmed; Mohammad al-Saffaf; Abduljalil Mansour; and Said Mirza
Ahmad. State Department said on September 4, 2012, it was “deeply troubled” by the
upholding of the sentences.
Nabeel Rajab
Successor to al-Khawaja as head of BCHR. Arrested February 15, 2012, for inciting illegal
assembly and organizing unlicensed demonstrations, released, and rearrested on April 1,
2012. Sentenced on August 16, 2012, to three years in jail but, on December 11, 2012,
sentence was reduced to two years on appeal. Released May 24, 2014. Rearrested in
October 2014 for online posts al eging security force links to the Islamic State.
Sayed Yousif al-
Member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has catalogued and reported on
Muhafdha
protests over social media. Arrested December 17, 2012, and detained for two weeks in
November 2012.
21 medical personnel
Twenty-one medical personnel were arrested in April 2011 and subsequently tried for
from Salmaniya Medical
inciting sectarian hatred, possession of illegal weapons, and forcibly occupying a public
Complex
building. The personnel argued that they were helping wounded protesters. They were
tried in a military court before the government announced their retrial in a civilian court.
All were eventually acquitted, most recently in late March 2013 by an appeals court.
However, they have not been able to regain their jobs at the medical center.
Matar Matar and Jawad
Arrested May 2, 2011, and released August 8, 2011. Matar formal y acquitted on February
Fairuz, members of the
19, 2012. Fairuz was one of the 31 whose citizenship was revoked in Nov. 2012. His
COR, Ayatollah Najati
brother, Jalal Fairuz, was another stripped of citizenship, as was Shi te Ayatol ah Hussein
al-Najati. Najati was ordered expel ed from Bahrain on April 23, 2014, for acting as a
representative of Iraqi senior Ayatol ah Ali al-Sistani “without permission.” He reportedly
remains in Bahrain, however, as of August 2014.
Deputy Secretary
Arrested in September 2013 for “inciting terrorism,” but released after 38 days and
General of Wifaq, Khalil banned from leaving Bahrain. Was acquitted of al charges on June 25, 2014.
al-Marzuq
Number killed in the
About 100
uprising to date
Sources: Various press and interest group reports.
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U.S. Posture on the Uprising
The Administration has not at any time called for the Al Khalifa regime to step down, asserting
that Bahrain’s use of force against demonstrators has been limited and that the Bahrain
government has—prior to and since the uprising began—undertaken reform. The Administration
has repeatedly urged Bahraini authorities against using force against protesters, it opposed the
GCC intervention, and it has called on all parties to engage in sustained political dialogue on
reforms.23 After the GCC intervention, on March 19, 2011, then Secretary Clinton said:
Bahrain obviously has the sovereign right to invited GCC forces into its territory under its
defense and security agreements…. [The United States has] made clear that security alone
cannot resolve the challenges facing Bahrain. As I said earlier this week, violence is not and
cannot be the answer. A political process is. We have raised our concerns about the current
measures directly with Bahraini officials and will continue to do so.
President Obama’s May 19, 2011, speech on the uprisings in the Middle East said the prospects
for success of a Bahrain government dialogue with the opposition were compromised by the
jailing of opposition figures. This position was restated in separate June 7, 2011, meetings
between the Crown Prince and then Secretary Clinton and President Obama. In his September 21,
2011, speech to the U.N. General Assembly, President Obama said:
In Bahrain, steps have been taken toward reform and accountability. We’re pleased with that,
but more is required. America is a close friend of Bahrain, and we will continue to call on the
government and the main opposition bloc—the Wifaq—to pursue a meaningful dialogue that
brings peaceful change that is responsive to the people. We believe the patriotism that binds
Bahrainis together must be more powerful than the sectarian forces that would tear them
apart. It will be hard, but it is possible.
The same day, Ambassador-nominee to Bahrain (later confirmed) Thomas Krajeski testified in
confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying the Bahrain
government “overreacted” to the unrest, but also praising the government’s record of reform.
After the release of the BICI report, then-Secretary of State Clinton said that the United States is
deeply concerned about the abuses identified in the report … and believe[s] that the BICI
report offers a historic opportunity for all Bahrainis to participate in a healing process that
will address long-standing grievances and move the nation onto a path of genuine, sustained,
reform.
During May 2012, Crown Prince Salman visited Washington, DC, and met with Secretary of
State Clinton, Secretary of Defense Panetta, and Vice President Biden. As discussed below, a
resumption of some U.S. arms sales to Bahrain was announced on May 11, 2012, which
represented an Administration effort to strengthen the reformist Crown Prince politically.
On June 6, 2013, Secretary of State John Kerry met in Washington, D.C., with the Crown Prince
and a subsequent State Department statement said: the United States and Bahrain “agreed that all
sides should contribute constructively to reconciliation, meaningful dialogue, and reform that
meets the aspirations of all Bahrainis. Secretary Kerry reiterated [the U.S.] belief that all sides
23 Secretary of State Clinton Comments on the Situation in the Middle East. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
GbucMZUg3Gc.
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must reject violence and pursue actions that will contribute to Bahrain’s future growth and
prosperity.” Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel visited Bahrain to speak before the 2013 Manama
Dialogue (IISS security conference discussed above), becoming the first U.S. cabinet member to
visit Bahrain since the 2011 uprising began. In late January 2014, acting Assistant Secretary of
State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Uzra Zeya visited Bahrain to meet with senior
officials there. On February 29, 2014, Deputy Secretary of State William Burns praised the efforts
of the Crown Prince to revive the national dialogue process.24
U.S.–Bahrain differences over Bahrain’s handling of the unrest broke out into the open on July 7,
2014, when Bahrain ordered Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor (DRL) Tom Malinowski out of Bahrain for meeting separately with Wifaq leader Shaykh
Salman. The government asserted he breached a June 2013 Bahraini requirement that all foreign
government meetings with opposition political societies have a Bahrain government official
present. Secretary of State Kerry, in a phone call to Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, called that
requirement “unacceptable” and contrary to international diplomatic protocol. A July 18, 2014,
letter to King Hamad, signed by 18 Members of the House of Representatives, called on the King
to invite Assistant Secretary Malinowski back to Bahrain to continue his diplomatic work.25
The Malinowski expulsion represented heightened opposition by the Bahrain government to U.S.
criticism of Bahrain’s handling of the unrest. That opposition had generally taken the form of
criticism by government supporters of Ambassador Krajeski for meeting with opposition political
societies and other government critics. The Administration did not heed calls from some
Bahrainis to replace Krajeski’s before his term was up. In July 2014, after Krajeski had served a
normal three year term as Ambassador, the Administration nominated William V. Roebuck,
another career diplomat, to succeed him. In September 2014, Bahrain refused to provide
Representative Jim McGovern a guarantee of access to Bahrain, scuttling his planned visit to
meet with all sides involved in the political disputes.26
Other critics of the Administration—primarily human rights-oriented groups such as Human
Rights Watch and the Project on Middle East Democracy—say that U.S. criticism of Bahrain’s
handling of the unrest has insufficient. These critics say the Administration response has been
muted by the Administration’s perception of vital U.S. security interests in Bahrain.27 These
critics add that the Administration is concerned, excessively so in the view of these critics, that a
fall of the Al Khalifa regime and ascension of a Shiite-led government could increase Iran’s
influence and lead to an unwanted loss of the U.S. use of Bahrain’s military facilities.
Administration critics have said that continued military sales and aid to the government
represents a tacit endorsement of the government’s stance on the unrest. Some outside experts
criticized State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf’s September 18, 2013, reaction to the arrest
of Khalil al-Marzuq because her comments expressed disappointment not at the arrest but at the
opposition’s pullout from the national dialogue.
24 http://www.state.gov/s/d/2014/221809.htm?utm_source=Project+on+Middle+East+Democracy+-+All+Contacts&
utm_campaign=027fa1d218-Bahrain_Weekly_Update_Nov_1_2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_75a06056d7-
027fa1d218-215946089
25 Congress of the United States. Letter to King Hamad. July 18, 2014.
26 http://mcgovern.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/us-rep-jim-mcgovern-issues-statement-on-refusal-of-
bahraini-govt-to?utm_source=Project+on+Middle+East+Democracy+-+All+Contacts&utm_campaign=b2cd02f711-
Bahrain_Weekly_Update_Nov_1_2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_75a06056d7-b2cd02f711-215946089.
27 Stephen McInerny. “Silence on Bahrain.” Washington Post op-ed. November 5, 2012.
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Human rights organizations assert that the Obama Administration has continued military and anti-
terrorism assistance and some arms sales to Bahrain despite the government use of force against
protesters. The Administration counters that it has reduced or placed on hold some U.S. aid and
sales. For example, $25 million in military aid (Foreign Military Financing, FMF) was requested
for Bahrain for FY2012 (figures determined just before the uprising began), but only $10 million
was provided. $12.575 million in FMF was provided in FY2013 and $10 million is being
provided in FY2014. The Administration requested $7.5 million for that function for FY2015.
The Administration has not imposed any sanctions on Bahrain or on Bahraini officials for human
rights abuses. Some human rights-related groups have suggested that the United States should ban
travel to the United States or freeze any U.S.-based assets of Bahraini officials determined by the
Administration to have committed or authorized human rights abuses against peaceful protesters.
Such sanctions have been imposed on members of adversary governments such as Syria and Iran,
for example in the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010
(P.L. 111-195).
Pre-2011 U.S. Posture on Bahraini Democracy and Human Rights
Well before the 2011 unrest began, human rights groups and Bahraini Shiite oppositionists had
accused successive U.S. Administrations of downplaying government abuses. Critics point to then
Secretary of State Clinton’s comments in Bahrain on December 3, 2010, referring to the October
2010 elections, saying: “I am impressed by the commitment that the government has to the
democratic path that Bahrain is walking on. It takes time; we know that from our own
experience.”28
The Administration counters the criticism with assertions that, for many years prior to the 2011
unrest, the United States sought to accelerate political reform in Bahrain and to empower its
political societies through several programs. The primary vehicle has been the “Middle East
Partnership Initiative (MEPI),” which began funding programs in Bahrain in 2003 such as those
to help Bahrain build an independent judiciary, to strengthen the COR, to empower women, to
conduct media training, and to promote legal reform. MEPI funds have also been used to fund
AFL-CIO projects with Bahraini labor organizations, and to help Bahrain implement the U.S.-
Bahrain FTA. In May 2006 Bahrain revoked the visa for the resident program director of the
National Democratic Institute (NDI), and did not allow the office to reopen. NDI was conducting
programs to enhance parliamentary capabilities through a local NGO. Successive State
Department International Religious Freedom reports have noted that the U.S. government
discusses religious freedom with the [Bahraini] government as part of its overall policy to
promote human rights. A U.S. Embassy Manama fact sheet on the Embassy website, accessed in
September 2013, notes that the United States funds a judicial reform program to improve the
transparency of the judicial system, and that the embassy works with the Ministry of Justice’s
Judicial and Legal Studies Institute (JLSI) to conduct specialized training for judges, lawyers, law
schools, and the bar association.
28 Department of State. “Remarks With Foreign Minister Al Khalifa After Their Meeting.” December 3, 2010.
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Other Human Rights Issues29
Most of the human rights problems identified in Bahrain are directly tied to the government’s
response to the unrest, as noted in human rights reports such as those by the State Department,
Human Rights Watch, and other groups. The State Department human rights report for 2013,
released February 27, 2014, notes additional problems in Bahrain for non-Muslims and for non-
Shiite opponents of the government, as well as limitations in the rights of organized labor.
There are several Bahraini human rights groups, mainly advocates for Shiite rights and causes.
The most prominent are the Bahrain Human Rights Society (the primary licensed human rights
organization), the Bahrain Transparency Society, and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights
(BCHR) and its offshoot, the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR). The latter
organization was officially dissolved but remain active informally. As noted above, the
government has arrested several leaders of these organizations.
Bahrain has drawn increasing attention from U.N. human rights bodies and other governments.
On June 28, 2012, 28 countries issued a joint declaration, during U.N. Human Rights Council
debate, condemning human rights abuses by the Bahrain government. The United States, Britain,
and eight other EU countries did not support the initiative. Human rights groups criticized the
Administration for refusing to block the September 28, 2012, vote in the U.N. Human Rights
Council to fill one of its advisory committee vacancies with a Bahraini representative, Saeed
Mohammad al-Faihani. That vote came nine days after the Human Rights Council accepted a
Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain’s human rights record, in which the government agreed to
fully accept 140 out of 176 recommendations of the review. On September 9, 2013, 47 countries,
including the United States, joined the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
in stating that the human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern.30
Opposition activists reportedly have requested the appointment of a U.N. Special Rapporteur on
human rights in Bahrain and the establishment of a formal U.N. office in Bahrain that would
monitor human rights practices there. These steps have not been taken, to date.
Women’s Rights
As do the other GCC countries, Bahraini practices and customs tend to limit women’s rights.
Women can drive, own and inherit property, and initiate divorce cases, but religious courts may
refuse a woman’s divorce request. Some prominent Bahraini women have campaigned for a
codified family law that would enhance and secure women’s rights, but were blocked by Bahraini
clerics who opposed such reforms. The campaign for the law was backed by King Hamad’s wife,
Shaykha Sabeeka, and the Supreme Council for Women, which is one association that promotes
29 Much of this section is from the State Department’s country report on human rights practices for 2013 (released
February 27, 2014), http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2013&dlid=
220348#wrapper; the International Religious Freedom Report for 2013 (July 28, 2014), http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/
irf/religiousfreedom/index.htm?year=2013&dlid=222285#wrapper; and the Trafficking in Persons Report for 2013
(June 19, 2013), http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210740.pdf. See also: Human Rights Watch: World
Report 2014.
30 http://pomed.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Joint-Statement-on-the-OHCHR-and-the-human-rights-situation-in-
Bahrain-FINAL.pdf?utm_source=Project+on+Middle+East+Democracy+-+All+Contacts&utm_campaign=
52543e5858-Bahrain_Weekly_Update_Nov_1_2012&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_75a06056d7-52543e5858-
215946089.
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women’s rights in Bahrain. Others include the Bahrain Women’s Union, the Bahrain Women’s
Association, and the Young Ladies Association.
The government promotes women to high positions. Since 2005, there has always been at least
two female ministers—Minister of Human Rights and Social Development Fatima bint Ahmad al-
Balushi and Minister of Information and Culture Mai bint Muhammad Al Khalifa. A third, Samira
Rajab, was added to the cabinet in 2012 as minister of state for media affairs. Huda Azar Nonoo,
an attorney and formerly the only Jew in the Shura Council, was ambassador to the United States
during 2008-2013. As noted above, a female—Dana Zayani—heads the “Follow Up Unit” that
oversaw implementation of the BICI recommendations. The number of women in both chambers
of the National Assembly is provided in Table 1, above.
Religious Freedom
The State Department report on international religious freedom for 2013 (released July 28, 2014)
was similar to that of previous years in that it focuses extensively on Sunni-Shiite differences and
the unrest. As an example, in September 2013 the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, which
regulates the affairs of Muslim organizations in Bahrain, filed a lawsuit against the main
assembly of Shiite clerics in Bahrain, called the Islamic Ulema Council. The Ministry claimed it
was an illegal organization and sought to halt its activities and liquidate its assets.
According to the report, the government allows freedom of worship for Christians, Jews, and
Hindus although the constitution declares Islam the official religion. Non-Muslim groups must
register with the Ministry of Social Development to operate and Muslim groups must register
with the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs. To date, 19 non-Muslim religious groups are
registered, including Christian churches and a Hindu temple. In 2012, the government donated
land for the Roman Catholic Vicariate of Northern Arabia to relocate from Kuwait to Bahrain.
The Baha’i faith, declared blasphemous in Iran and Afghanistan, has been discriminated against
in Bahrain, although recent State Department human rights reports say that the Baha’i community
can gather and operates openly. According to the State Department human rights report for 2011,
there are about 40 Jews in Bahrain, and no recent reports of anti-Semitic acts.
Aside from sectarian differences, religious conservatives, both Sunni and Shiite, are active in
Bahrain. On September 14, 2012, about 2,000 Bahrainis demonstrated in the mostly Shiite district
of Diraz against the U.S.-produced video “The Innocence of Muslims.” Similar demonstrations
took place throughout the Middle East and South Asia.
Media Freedoms
Media freedoms have been curbed since the uprising began. The State Department human rights
reports states that the government suppresses critical speech. In April 2013, the government
increased the recommended jail sentence for “insulting the King” to five years, from two years.
As noted above, in October 2004, the government rearrested Nabil Rajab for posting online
reports that members of the Bahrain security forces had joined the Islamic State organization.
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Labor Rights
On labor issues, Bahrain has been credited with significant labor reforms, including a 2002 law
granting workers, including noncitizens, the right to form and join unions. The law holds that the
right to strike is a legitimate means for workers to defend their rights and interests, but their right
is restricted in practice, including a prohibition on strikes in the oil and gas, education, and health
sectors. There are about 50 trade unions in Bahrain, but all unions must join the General
Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (GFBTU). As a sign of the degree to which the GFBTU is
dominated by oppositionists, during the height of unrest in 2011, the GFBTU called at least two
general strikes to protest excessive force by security forces. In apparent retaliation by the
government and employers, during March-May 2011, employers dismissed almost 2,500 workers
from the private sector, and almost 2,000 from the public sector, including 25% of the country’s
union leadership.
Human Trafficking
On human trafficking, the State Department “Trafficking in Persons Report” for 2014, released in
July 2014, again places Bahrain in “Tier 2: Watch List.” This is the third year in a row that
Bahrain is rated at that level.31 The Tier 2 Watch List ranking is based on the government’s failure
to demonstrate increasing effort to address the human trafficking issue. However, it was given a
waiver for a mandatory downgrade to Tier 3 (a requirement if a country is on the Watch List for
three consecutive years) on the grounds that it has a written plan to bring its efforts against
trafficking into compliance with international standards. The 2014 report adds that the
government has increased prosecutions for trafficking, as compared to 2013. The report for 2014
asserts that Bahrain is a destination country for migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ethiopia, Ghana, and Eritrea to be
subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking.
Executions and Torture
Another issue that has been widely discussed in the context of the uprising, but which predated it,
is that of executions and torture. Human Rights Watch and other groups long asserted that
Bahrain had been going against the international trend of ending executions. In November 2009,
Bahrain’s Court of Cassation upheld the sentencing to death by firing squad of a citizen of
Bangladesh. That sentenced was imposed for a 2005 murder. From 1977 until 2006, there were no
executions in Bahrain.
Allegations of torture against Shiite opposition figures have been widespread. In February 2010,
Human Rights Watch issued a study alleging systematic use by Bahraini security forces of
torture.32 Witnesses at the May 13, 2011, hearing of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
asserted that torture was being used regularly on those (mostly Shiites) arrested in the unrest. The
State Department human rights report for 2011 said there were numerous reports of torture and
other cruel punishments during the state of emergency (March-June 2011). The government
cancelled the planned May 2013 visit of the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Juan Mendez—the second cancellation of his
31 http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/226845.pdf.
32 Human Rights Watch. “Bahrain: Torture Redux.” February 2010.
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visit since the unrest began. On June 7, 2013, 20 Senators and Representatives signed a letter to
the King urging him to allow a visit by Mendez in order to demonstrate Bahrain’s “commitment
to help put an end to such abuses.”33
U.S.-Bahrain Security and Foreign Policy Relations34
The U.S.-Bahrain security relationship dates to the end of World War II and, since the late 1970s,
defense and security issues have been central to U.S.-Bahrain relations. In large part to keep
powerful neighbors in check, Bahrain has linked its security to the United States, and has placed
its facilities at U.S. disposal to address threats from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, international
terrorism, and piracy in the Gulf and Arabia Sea. Bahrain, as much as any GCC state, considers
Iran’s nuclear program a major potential threat. Since the U.S.-led ousting of Saddam Hussein in
Iraq, the perceived threat from Iraq has receded because Iraq’s military is far smaller and less
well-armed than it was during the rule of Saddam Hussein.
In addition to the long-standing U.S. naval headquarters presence in Bahrain, the two countries
signed a formal Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) in 1991. In March 2002, President Bush
(Presidential Determination 2002-10) designated Bahrain a “major non-NATO ally (MNNA),” a
designation that qualifies Bahrain to purchase the same U.S. arms that NATO allies can purchase.
There are about 7,000 U.S. military personnel, mostly Navy, deployed in Bahrain implementing
various missions and U.S.-Bahrain defense cooperation initiatives.35
U.S. officials say that U.S.- Bahrain defense cooperation has not suffered significantly from
differences over Bahrain’s handling of the unrest, but Bahrain government has become slightly
less forthcoming with in-kind support to the U.S. military presence in Bahrain, according to U.S.
officials. The continued strength of the defense relationship was displayed in September 2014
when Bahrain joined the U.S.-led anti-Islamic State coalition by flying airstrikes on Islamic State
positions in Syria.
Opposition leaders, including Wifaq leader Salman, publicly support the security relationship with
the United States, but they assert that the United States should use the leverage of its military
presence in Bahrain to persuade the Bahraini government to enact significant political reforms.
Others observers say that, were the opposition to come to power, the U.S. military would be
expelled from Bahrain—in part because Iran might influence its Shiite allies in Bahrain to expel
the U.S. military.
U.S. Naval Headquarters in Bahrain
The cornerstone of U.S.-Bahrain defense relations is U.S. access to Bahrain’s naval facilities.
February 2008 marked the 60th anniversary of a U.S. naval command presence in Bahrain;
MIDEASTFOR (U.S. Middle East Force), its successor, NAVCENT (naval component of U.S.
Central Command), as well as the Fifth Fleet (reconstituted in June 1995) are headquartered
33 http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/HRF-King-Al-Khalifa-Letter.pdf.
34 Information in this section obtained from a variety of press reports, and the Defense Security Cooperation Agency
(DSCA).
35 Hendrick Simoes. “Bahrain Expansion Latest Sign of Continued Presence.” Stars and Stripes, December 16, 2013.
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there, at a sprawling facility called “Naval Support Activity-Bahrain.” It is also home to U.S.
Marine Forces Central Command, Destroyer Squadron Fifty, and three Combined Maritime
Forces.36 The “on-shore” U.S. command presence in Bahrain was established after the 1991 Gulf
war against Iraq; prior to that, the U.S. naval headquarters in Bahrain was on a command ship
mostly docked in Bahrain and technically “off shore.”
Some smaller U.S. ships (e.g., minesweepers) are home-ported there, but the Fifth Fleet consists
mostly of U.S.-homeported ships that are sent to the region on six- to seven-month deployments.
Ships operating in the Fifth Fleet at any given time typically include a carrier strike group, an
amphibious ready group, and some additional surface combatants, and operate in both the Persian
Gulf and Indian Ocean/Northern Arabian Sea. In mid-March 2012, the U.S. Navy announced it
was doubling its minesweepers in the Gulf to eight, and sending additional mine-hunting
helicopters, as tensions escalated over Iran’s nuclear program and its threatened reaction to new
sanctions. In May 2013, the U.S. Navy announced it is moving an additional five coastal patrol
ships to Bahrain, to join five already there. The naval headquarters serves as the command
headquarters for periodic exercises intended to signal resolve to Iran; a mine-sweeping exercise
involving 41 countries was held in the Gulf during May 5-30, 2013.
The naval headquarters also coordinates the operations of over 20 U.S. and allied warships in
Combined Task Force (CTF) 151 and 152 that seek to interdict the movement of terrorists,
pirates, arms, or weapons of mass destruction (WMD)-related technology and narcotics across the
Arabian Sea. In March 2008, Bahrain took a turn in a rotation to command CTF-152, and it
commanded again in December 2010. Bahrain commanded an anti-piracy task force in
Gulf/Arabian Sea waters in October 2010. These operations are offshoots of Operation Enduring
Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan, which ousted the Taliban after the September 11 attacks.
To further develop the naval facility (sometimes referred to as “Bahrain Island”), and other
military facilities, the U.S. military is implementing a planned $580 million military construction
program in Bahrain.37 That construction, which began in May 2010, will add 77 acres (the
decommissioned Mina (port) Al Salman Pier, leased by the Navy under a January 2008 lease
agreement) to the existing 80 acre facility. When completed in 2017, the expansion will provide a
new administration building and additional space for maintenance, barracks, warehousing, and
dining facilities. The expansion will support the deployment of additional U.S. coastal patrol
ships and the Navy’s new littoral combat ship, and permit larger U.S. ships to dock at the naval
facility.38 A separate deep water port in Bahrain, Khalifa bin Salman, is one of the few facilities in
the Gulf that can accommodate U.S. aircraft carriers and amphibious ships.39
Of the military construction program under way in Bahrain, $45 million is being used to expand
an apron at Shaykh Isa Air Base, where a variety of U.S. aircraft are stationed, including F-16s, F-
18s, and P-3 surveillance aircraft. About $19 million is being used for a U.S. Special Operations
Forces facility.
36 For an extended discussion of the U.S. military presence in Bahrain, see Brookings Institution, Center for 21st
Century Security and Intelligence, Policy Paper “No ‘Plan B’: U.S. Strategic Access in the Middle East and the
Question of Bahrain. June 2013, by Commander Richard McDaniel, U.S.N.
37 Among the recent appropriations to fund the expansion are: $54 million for FY2008 (Division 1 of P.L. 110-161);
$41.5 million for FY2010 (P.L. 111-117); $258 million for FY2011 (P.L. 112-10). $100 million was requested for
FY2012 for two projects, but was not funded in the FY2012 Consolidated Appropriation (P.L. 112-74).
38 Hendrick Simoes. “Bahrain Expansion Latest Sign of Continued Presence.” Stars and Stripes, December 16, 2013.
39 Ibid.
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Some say that the United States should begin examining alternate facilities in the Gulf region in
the expectation that continued Bahraini hosting of the U.S. naval headquarters has become
unstable. On July 22, 2011, the U.S. Navy in Bahrain issued a statement refuting a British press
report that the Navy is planning to relocate the facility. Should there be a decision to take that
step, likely alternatives in the Gulf would include Qatar’s New Doha Port (to open in 2016),
Kuwait’s Shuaiba port, and the UAE’s Jebel Ali.40 None of these countries has publicly expressed
a position on whether it would be willing to host such an expanded facility, but they have been
highly cooperative with U.S. defense efforts in the Gulf and presumably would be willing to host
the naval headquarters. U.S. officials say other Gulf state facilities, such as Jebel Ali in UAE, do
not currently provide large U.S. ships with the ease of docking access that Bahrain does, and that
many of the alternative possibilities inconveniently share docking and other facilities with large
commercial operations. Such facilities could be improved, if necessary, by further construction.
Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA)
Bahrain was part of the U.S.-led allied coalition that ousted Iraq from Kuwait in 1991. Bahrain
allowed the stationing of 17,500 U.S. troops and 250 U.S. combat aircraft at Shaykh Isa Air Base
that participated in the 1991 “Desert Storm” offensive against Iraqi forces. Bahraini pilots flew
strikes over Iraq during the war, and Iraq fired nine Scud missiles at Bahrain during the war, of
which three hit facilities there.
Bahrain and the United States subsequently decided to institutionalize the expanded cooperation
by signing a Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) on October 28, 1991, for an initial period of
ten years. The DCA remains in effect.41 The pact reportedly not only provides the United States
access to Bahrain’s air bases and to pre-position strategic materiel (mostly U.S. Air Force
munitions), but also requires consultations with Bahrain if its security is threatened, and it
expanded exercises and U.S. training of Bahraini forces.42 The pact includes a “Status of Forces
Agreement” (SOFA) under which U.S. military personnel serving in Bahrain operate under U.S.,
and not Bahraini, law.
The DCA was the framework for U.S.-Bahrain cooperation to contain Saddam Hussein’s Iraq
during the 1990s. Bahrain hosted the U.S.-led Multinational Interdiction Force (MIF) that
enforced a U.N. embargo on Iraq during 1991-2003. Since the early 1990s, the United States has
reportedly stationed two Patriot anti-missile batteries there.43 Separately, Bahrain hosted the
regional headquarters for U.N. weapons inspections in Iraq during 1991-1998.
Under the DCA, U.S. pilots flew combat missions from Bahraini air bases (Shaykh Isa Air Base)
in both Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan (after the September 11, 2001 attacks
on the United States) and the war to oust Saddam Hussein in March-April 2003 (Operation Iraqi
Freedom, OIF). During both OEF and OIF, Bahrain publicly deployed its U.S.-supplied frigate
40 Ibid.
41 “U.S.-Bahrain Defense Pact Renewed.” Agence France Presse, August 5, 2011.
42 Details of the U.S.-Bahrain defense agreement are classified. Some provisions are discussed in Sami Hajjar, U.S.
Military Presence in the Gulf: Challenges and Prospects (U.S. Army War College: Strategic Studies Institute), March
2002, p. 27. The State and Defense Departments have not provided CRS with requested information on the duration of
the pact, or whether its terms had been modified in recent years.
43 Walter Pincus. “Bahrain Government’s Ties With the United States Run Deep.” Washington Post, February 22,
2011.
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warship (the Subha) to help protect U.S. ships, and it sent ground and air assets to Kuwait in
support of OIF.
Bahrain and UAE have been the only Gulf states to deploy their own forces to provide aid to
Afghanistan. In January 2009, Bahrain sent 100 police officers to Afghanistan on a two-year tour
to help U.S./NATO-led stabilization operations there. Their tour was extended until the end of the
NATO mission at the end of 2014.
U.S. Arms Transfers and Military Aid
To assist Bahrain’s ability to cooperate with the United States on regional security issues, the
United States has taken into consideration Bahrain’s limited financial resources and provided
small amounts of military assistance. Because U.S. military aid has been relatively small, Bahrain
has mostly used national funds to buy the $1.4 billion worth of U.S. weaponry it bought from
2000-2013.44 The unrest has caused the Administration to put on hold sales to Bahrain equipment
that could easily be used against protesters, while continuing to provide equipment that is suited
to Bahrain’s external defense capabilities and its support for U.S. operations in the region. Sales
of small arms are generally commercial sales, licensed by State Department with Defense
Department concurrence. On September 10, 2011, the State Department licensed a sale of 250
pistols to the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) and other firearms for the protection of a high
ranking Bahraini official. Since 2012, the department has put “on hold” license requests for sales
to Bahrain of small arms, light weapons, and ammunition.45
The main recipient of U.S. military assistance has been the relatively small BDF—Bahrain’s
military force—which has less than 10,000 active duty personnel, including 1,200 National
Guard. The BDF, as well as Bahrain’s police forces, are run by Sunni Bahrainis, but supplement
their ranks with unknown percentages of paid recruits from Sunni Muslim neighboring countries,
including Pakistan, Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, and elsewhere. Some human rights groups say that BDF
equipment, such as Cobra helicopters, have been used against protesters and that the United
States cannot be sure that sales to and training of the BDF is not being used to crush unrest.
Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
Most of the U.S. assistance to Bahrain is Foreign Military Financing (FMF).
According to the Administration, FMF (and funds provided under “Section 1206” of the National
Defense Authorization Act of 2006, P.L. 109-163) is provided to Bahrain to help it maintain
U.S.-origin weapons, to enhance inter-operability with U.S. forces, to augment Bahrain’s air
defenses, to support and upgrade the avionics of its F-16 combat aircraft (see below), and to
improve counterterrorism capabilities. The United States has supplied Bahrain with a coastal
radar system that reportedly provides Bahrain and the U.S. Navy a 360-degree field of vision
around Bahrain.46 In recent years, some FMF funds have been used to build up Bahrain’s Special
Operations forces and to help the BDF use its U.S.-made Blackhawk helicopters.47 The Defense
44 Justin Elliott. “Revealed: America’s Arms Sales to Bahrain Amid Bloody Crackdown.” Propublica, January 15,
2013.
45 Email from the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, May 20, 2013.
46 “Bahrain Government’s Ties With the United States Run Deep,” op. cit.
47 “Revealed: America’s Arms Sales to Bahrain Amid Bloody Crackdown,” op. cit.
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Department estimates that, in part due to U.S. assistance, about 50% of Bahrain’s forces are fully
capable of integrating into a U.S.-led coalition.
The Administration’s FY2012 aid request, made at the start of the unrest, asked for
$25 million in FMF for Bahrain. However, as shown in
Table 4 below, only $10 million was provided for FY2012, due in large part to the
Administration’s intent to retain leverage against Bahrain to compel it to make reforms. A slightly
increased amount was provided for FY2013 but the amount dropped back to $10 million
(estimated) for FY2014. The Administration has requested an even lower amount—$7.5
million—for Bahrain FMF for FY2015.
Excess Defense Articles (EDA)
Bahrain is eligible to receive grant “excess defense articles” (EDA), and it has received over $400
million worth of EDA since the program began for Bahrain in 1993. In June 1995, the United
States provided 50 M-60A3 tanks to Bahrain as a “no cost” five-year lease. Bahrain later received
title to the equipment. In July 1997, the United States transferred the FFG-7 “Perry class” frigate
Subha (see above) as EDA. In the State Department’s FY2012 budget request, the Administration
supported providing another frigate (an “extended deck frigate”) to Bahrain as EDA because the
Subha is approaching the end of its service life. The Administration said on May 11, 2012, that it
continued to support that transfer, which is planned for 2014, subject to passage of authorizing
legislation.48 However, the FY2014 foreign aid budget justification says that the BDF has put
acquisition of a new frigate on hold, and would put U.S. military aid toward maintaining the
Subha instead.
International Military Education and Training Funds (IMET)
As noted in
Table 4, small amounts of International Military Education and Training funds (IMET) are
provided to Bahrain to inculcate principles of civilian control of the military, democracy, and
interoperability with U.S. forces. Approximately 250 Bahraini military students attend U.S.
military schools each year, either through the IMET program (57% of them), or using FMF funds,
in connection with the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program.
Major Foreign Military Sales (FMS) from Bahrain National Funds
Bahrain’s total government budget is about $6 billion per year, allowing modest amounts of
national funds to be used for purchases of major combat systems. About 85% of Bahrain’s
defense equipment is of U.S.-origin. Section 581 of the FY1990 foreign operations appropriation
act (P.L. 101-167) made Bahrain the only Gulf state eligible to receive the Stinger shoulder-fired
anti-aircraft missile, and the United States has sold Bahrain about 70 Stingers since 1990. (This
authorization has been repeated in subsequent legislation.)
48 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2012/05/189810.htm.
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Some of the sales to Bahrain have been in accordance with longstanding State and Defense
Department efforts to promote greater defense cooperation among the GCC states and to deal
with the GCC collectively rather than individually. The core of these initiatives involves missile
defense integration, and it is primarily Bahrain’s wealthier neighbors, such as UAE, that are
buying advanced U.S. missile defense equipment. That prevents Bahrain from becoming a major
factor in the U.S. effort to assemble a Gulf-wide, coordinated missile defense network. That effort
has been discussed extensively with the Gulf states, most recently during Secretary of Defense
Chuck Hagel’s meeting with GCC defense ministers in Jeddah during May 13-14, 2014. Among
the major past sales:
• In 1998, Bahrain purchased 10 U.S.-made F-16Cs from new production, worth
about $390 million. It later purchased 12 more of the system, bringing its F-16
fleet to 22. In 1999 and 2009, the United States sold Bahrain Advanced Medium-
Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs) to arm the F-16s.
• An August 2000 sale of 30 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs, a system
of short-range ballistic missiles fired from a multiple rocket launcher), valued at
about $70 million, included an agreement for joint U.S.-Bahraini control of the
weapon. That arrangement was reached in part to allay U.S. congressional
concerns about possible U.S. promotion of missile proliferation in the region.
• In 2007, the United States sold Bahrain several hundred “Javelin” anti-armor
missiles worth up to $42 million; 9 UH-60M Blackhawk helicopters worth up to
$252 million; and 6 Bell search and recovery helicopters, valued at about $160
million.
Post-Uprising U.S. Sales Policy
U.S. arms sales policy to Bahrain has come under criticism since the 2011 uprising began.
Apparently addressing that criticism, the Administration has adjusted its arms sales policy to
Bahrain, limiting sales to equipment that can be used only for external defense.
Humvee Sale Held Up. The policy evolved after human rights groups heavily criticized one sale,
notified on September 14, 2011, for 44 “Humvee” (M115A1B2) armored vehicles and several
hundred TOW missiles of various models, of which 50 are to be “bunker busters.” Along with
associated equipment and support, the proposed sale was worth an estimated $53 million. Critics
asserted that the sale represented U.S. downplaying of the abuses committed by the Bahraini
government and that the regime could use the Humvees against peaceful protesters. When the
sale was announced, State Department officials said the sale would not violate the intent of the
“Leahy amendment”—a provision of foreign aid and defense appropriations laws that forbids
U.S. sales of equipment to security units that have committed human rights abuses.49
Two joint resolutions were introduced in the 112th Congress to block the sale: S.J.Res. 28,
introduced by Senator Ron Wyden, and H.J.Res. 80, introduced by Representative James
McGovern. Both joint resolutions would have prohibited the sale unless the Administration
certifies that Bahrain is rectifying the alleged abuses connected to its suppression of the uprising
in 2011. To block a proposed arms sale would require passage of a joint resolution to do so, and
with a veto-proof majority. The House bill attracted 14 co-sponsors, the Senate bill 2 co-sponsors.
49 James Lobe. “Bahrain: U.S. Congress Urged to Reject Arms Sales.” IPS News Service, September 29, 2011.
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On October 19, 2011, even though the sale had passed the period of congressional review, and
apparently addressing the criticism and legislative initiatives, the Administration told Congress it
would delay the sale until it could review the BICI report that was released November 23, 2011.
The State Department spokesperson stated on January 27, 2012, that “we are maintaining a pause
on most security assistance to Bahrain pending further progress on reform,” and the sale has not
been made, to date. The Administration stated in May 2012 that sales of other equipment that
could be used against protesters (tear gas and rifles, for example) would similarly remain on hold.
A provision of the FY2014 Consolidated Appropriation Act (P.L. 113-76) prohibits use of U.S.
funds for “tear gas, small arms, light weapons, ammunition, or other items for crowd control
purposes for foreign security forces that use excessive force to repress peaceful expression,
association, or assembly in countries undergoing democratic transition.”
External Defense-Related Sales in 2012. Asserting that sales of equipment suited only for
external defense should proceed, the Administration announced in January 2012 that it was
releasing to Bahrain previously notified and cleared spare parts and maintenance—worth a
reported $1 million—needed for Bahrain’s support of U.S. Fifth Fleet operations. None of the
released items can be used against protesters, according to the State Department statement.50
On May 11, 2012, in conjunction with a visit to Washington, DC, by Bahrain’s Crown Prince
Salman, the Administration announced that, despite continuing concerns about Bahrain’s handling
of the unrest, it would open up Bahrain to the purchase of additional U.S. arms for the BDF,
Bahrain’s Coast Guard, and Bahrain’s National Guard. The Administration stated that the
weaponry is not suited for use against protesters. The equipment sales were asserted to be in line
with U.S.-Bahrain decisions for Bahrain’s forces to focus more on broader maritime defense. The
Administration did not release a complete list of weapons to be sold, but it gave a few examples
as follows:
• The Perry-class frigate, as EDA, discussed above; but later mooted;
• Harbor security boats for the Bahrain Coast Guard, as EDA;
• An upgrade to the engines on Bahrain’s U.S.-made F-16s; and
• Additional AMRAAMs (see above), according to press reports quoting U.S.
officials knowledgeable about the decision.51
Some Members of Congress publicly criticized the May 11, 2012, decision as yielding U.S.
leverage on the government to enact more substantial reforms. Some threatened to try to block the
proposed sales,52 but no such legislation was enacted.
Foreign Policy Issues
Bahrain is closely aligned with the other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states
as well as with the United States.
50 Department of State. Taken Question: Bahrain’s Security Assistance. January 27, 2012.
51 Nicole Gaouette. “U.S. Resumes Bahrain Arms Sales Citing Security Interests.” Bloomberg News, May 11, 2012.
52 Sara Sorcher. “Arms Sales to Bahrain Anger Senators.” National Journal Daily, May 14, 2012.
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GCC/Saudi Arabia/Qatar
Virtually all the GCC states have political structures similar to that of Bahrain. Saudi Arabia and
Kuwait have sizeable Shiite minorities, but no other GCC state has a Shiite majority. Within the
GCC, Bahrain has particularly close relations with Saudi Arabia, as evidenced by the Saudi-led
GCC intervention in Bahrain in 2011. Well before intervening in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and other
GCC states had begun to express concerns that the Bahrain unrest could spread and create
opportunities for Iran to acquire influence and leverage in the GCC. The Saudi position is that it
will not permit a Shiite takeover in Bahrain, and the Saudi government is seen as backing
hardline officials in the Bahrain ruling family. Beyond the strategic ties, a Saudi oil field (Abu
Safa) provides a large portion of Bahrain’s government revenue. many Saudis visit Bahrain to
enjoy the relatively more liberal social atmosphere there, using a causeway constructed in 1986
that links to the eastern provinces of Saudi Arabia, where most of the Kingdom’s Shiites (about
10% of the population) live. King Hamad’s fifth son, Khalid bin Hamad, married a daughter of
Saudi King Abdullah in 2011. Since the beginning of the Bahrain unrest, Saudi Arabia reportedly
has donated at least $500 million to help Bahrain’s economy.
To reinforce their solidarity against regional and internal challenges, on May 14, 2012, Saudi
Arabia and Bahrain announced they supported a plan to form a close political and military union
among the GCC states (“Riyadh Declaration”). At a GCC leadership meeting in Riyadh that day,
the other four GCC states opposed such a union, and the GCC formally deferred a decision on the
Saudi-Bahraini plan. Still, the GCC states agreed in December 2012 to a collective security
agreement that combats crime and terrorism through information exchanges.
Because of historic ties between their two royal families, Kuwait has sometimes been touted as a
potential mediator in the Bahraini political crisis. Both royal families hail from the Anizah tribe
that settled in Bahrain and some of whom went on to what is now Kuwait. Kuwaiti Shiites in
Kuwait’s parliament have argued against Kuwait’s siding firmly with the Al Khalifa regime.
However, the Kuwaiti government did, as noted with its naval deployments, join the GCC
position on the side of the government and it is giving financial aid to Bahrain.
Although they are both GCC states, the Bahrain-Qatar relationship has been fraught with
disagreements and disputes. The resolution of their territorial dispute in 2001 eased one major
source of tension between them. The dispute had roots in the 18th century, when the ruling
families of both countries controlled parts of the Arabian peninsula. Both sides agreed to take the
dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1991 after clashes in 1986 in which Qatar
landed military personnel on a man-made reef (Fasht al-Dibal) that was in dispute, and took some
Bahrainis prisoner. The ICJ ruled on March 16, 2001, in favor of Bahrain on the central dispute
over the Hawar Islands. It ruled in favor of Qatar on ownership of the Fasht al-Dibal reef and the
town of Zubara on the Qatari mainland, where some members of the Al Khalifa family were long
buried. Two smaller islands, Janan and Hadd Janan, were ruled not part of the Hawar Islands
group and were also awarded to Qatar. Qatar expressed disappointment over the ruling but said it
accepted it as binding, and the two have since cooperated on major regional issues. Saudi
mediation of the issue during 1986-1991 proved fruitless.
More recently, Bahrain and Qatar have been at odds on regional policies. In March 2014, Bahrain
joined its closer partner, Saudi Arabia, as well as UAE, in removing its ambassador from Qatar.
The disagreement centered on Qatar’s support for Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated opposition
movements in several Middle Eastern countries. Qatar views the Brotherhood as a constructive
movement that can help bring peaceful transition to democracy in the region. That stance runs
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counter to the views of almost all the other GCC states who view it as a source of unrest within
the GCC states themselves.
Iran
Bahrain focuses intently on Iran, which the government asserts is supporting Shiite opposition
groups. Bahrain has supported U.S.-led efforts to increase economic pressure on Iran to compel it
to limit its nuclear program. In a joint news conference with then Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton on December 3, 2010, Bahrain’s foreign minister restated Bahrain’s support for Iran’s
right to nuclear power for peaceful uses, but that “when it comes to taking that [nuclear] power, to
developing it into a cycle for weapon grade, that is something that we can never accept, and we
can never live with in this region.”53 Bahrain supported publicly the November 24, 2013, interim
nuclear agreement between Iran and the international community, calling it “consistent with
[Bahrain’s] stances and policies which advocate diplomatic solutions to maintain stability.”
However, some Bahraini leaders are apparently concerned the deal will cause the United States to
reduce its commitment to the security of the Gulf. In a December 7, 2013 speech at the Manama
Dialogue, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel attempted to reassure Bahrain and all the GCC
states of U.S. resolve to maintain the security of the region. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were the
only two GCC states that did not host a visit by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
or his associates after the interim nuclear agreement was signed, although Saudi Arabia
subsequently invited Zarif.
Bahraini leaders have consistently asserted that Iran is actively stoking the Bahrain unrest. On
March 21, 2011, King Hamad indirectly accused Iran of involvement in the unrest by saying a
“foreign plot” had been foiled by the GCC intervention. Iran and Bahrain withdrew their
ambassadors in mid-March 2011, but returned them in August 2012. On February 21, 2013, the
government said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had helped form a
Bahraini cell to recruit other agents and store weapons in Bahrain for possible attacks on officials
and key locations.54 In May 2013, the government declared Lebanese Hezbollah a terrorist
organization, accusing that organization of helping orchestrate a Shiite-led insurgency in
Bahrain.55 Bahrain’s accusations against Iran and Hezbollah, have not changed since the August
2013 accession of Iran’s relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani. Bahraini authorities used
the ship interception of December 2013, discussed above, to underscore their point about Iranian
support for radical Bahrain oppositionists.
U.S. officials publicly do not differ dramatically with the Bahraini assertions on Iran. On April
14, 2011, U.S. officials, speaking on background, told journalists that there was some information
to indicate that Iran might have transferred small amounts of weapons to Bahraini
oppositionists.56 U.S. officials reportedly assert that Iran has urged hardline Bahraini Shiite
53 Department of State. Transcript of Remarks by Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Al Khalifa. December 3,
2010.
54 “Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Behind Terror Cell, Says Bahrain.” Saudi Gazette, February 22, 2013.
55 The United States designated Hezbollah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, FTO, in 1997 when that list was
established by the Immigration and Naturalization Act, 8 U.S.C. 1189.
56 Adam Entous and Matthew Rosenberg. “U.S. Says Iran Helps Crackdown in Syria.” Wall Street Journal, April 14,
2011.
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factions not to compromise.57 In his January 29, 2014, “Worldwide Threat Assessment”
testimony, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper stated that “In the broader Middle
East, Iran will continue to provide arms and other aid to Palestinian groups, Huthi rebels in
Yemen, and Shia militants in Bahrain to expand Iranian influence and to counter perceived
foreign threats.”58 The State Department report on terrorism for 2013, cited above, states that Iran
has attempted to smuggle arms to Shiite oppositionists in Bahrain.59
Well before the 2011 unrest, Bahrain’s concerns about Iran were infused by suspicions that Iran
never accepted the results of the 1970 U.N. survey giving Bahrain independence rather than
integration with Iran. Those findings were endorsed by U.N. Security Council Resolution 278,
which was ratified by Iran’s parliament. After these official determinations, Bahrain had
considered the issue closed, after over a century of Persian contestation of Bahraini sovereignty.
Those contests included an effort by Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran in the 1930s to deny Bahrain the
right to grant oil concessions to the United States and Britain. In December 1981, and then again
in June 1996—a time when Iran was actively seeking to export its Islamic revolution—Bahrain
publicly accused Iran of trying to organize a coup by pro-Iranian Bahraini Shiites (the Islamic
Front for the Liberation of Bahrain, IFLB). The group’s successor is the Bahrain Islamic Action
Society, which is outlawed. A July 2007 Iranian newspaper article reasserting the Iranian claim to
Bahrain. In March 2009, Ali Akbar Nateq Nuri, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader, again
referred to Bahrain as Iran’s 14th province. As a consequence of that statement, Morocco broke
relations with Iran.
At the same time, Bahrain, like the other GCC states, tries not to openly or directly antagonize
Iran. Bahrain permitted then Iranian President Ahmadinejad to visit Bahrain on November 17,
2007. Despite its political difficulties with Iran, Bahrain maintains normal trade with Iran,
probably to avoid antagonizing Iran into undertaking more assertive action on behalf of Bahrain’s
opposition. There are no indications that Iran-Bahrain general commerce has been affected by the
unrest in Bahrain. In September 2012, Bahrain confiscated carbon fiber bound for Iran, an item
that could contribute to Iran’s nuclear program. At the same time, some Bahraini firms maintain
relations with Iran in order not to harm longstanding trade relationships. Energy market observers
say that some Bahrain energy firms may still be supplying gasoline to Iran. No U.N. Security
Council Resolution bars such sales, but a U.S. law signed on July 1, 2010—the Comprehensive
Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA, P.L. 111-195)—provides
for sanctions against foreign firms that sell more than $1 million worth of gasoline to Iran.60 No
Bahraini gasoline traders have been sanctioned.
Foreign banks that deal with sanctioned Iranian banks or Iran’s Central Bank are subject to U.S.
sanctions under several U.S. laws (see CRS Report RS20871, Iran Sanctions, by Kenneth
Katzman). In March 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice sanctioned Future Bank, headquartered
in Bahrain, because it is controlled and partially owned by Iran’s Bank Melli. The sanctions,
under Executive Order 13382 (anti-proliferation), prevent U.S. citizens from participating in
57 http://www.stripes.com/gates-protracted-bahrain-negotiations-allowing-greater-iran-influence-1.137532.
58 Director of National Intelligence. Statement for the Record. Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence
Community. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, January 29, 2014.
59 http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224826.htm
60 For a list of possible sanctions that could be imposed, see CRS Report RS20871, Iran Sanctions, by Kenneth
Katzman.
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transactions with Future Bank and require the freezing of any U.S.-based bank assets. The bank
remains in operation.
The Bahrain unrest has clouded the prospects for further energy cooperation between the two
countries. A 2007 Ahmadinejad visit to Bahrain resulted in a preliminary agreement for Bahrain
to buy 1.2 billion cubic feet per day (for 25 years) of Iranian gas via an undersea pipeline to be
built. The deal would have involved a $4 billion investment by Bahrain to develop Phases 15 and
16 of Iran’s South Pars gas field, which presumably would be the source of the gas that Bahrain
would import. Largely because of Bahrain’s suspicions of Iran, there has been no recent
movement on the arrangement.
Iraq/Syria/Islamic State Organization
Bahrain cooperated with the U.S.-led effort in 2003 to overthrow Saddam Hussein of Iraq, despite
domestic opposition in Bahrain to that war. Bahrain did not contribute any of its limited funds to
Iraq reconstruction, but it attended the “Expanded Neighbors of Iraq” regional conference process
which last met in Kuwait on April 22, 2008. That process wound down in late 2008 as Iraq
stabilized. On October 16, 2008, Bahrain’s first post-Saddam ambassador to Iraq (Saleh Ali al-
Maliki) presented his credentials in Baghdad, in line with King Hamad’s pledge to President Bush
in March 2008 to appoint an ambassador to Iraq.
Bahrain-Iraq relations deteriorated as Iraq’s Shiite-dominated government appeared to
sympathize with the Shiite uprising in Bahrain. On March 9, 2012, Iraqi Shiites rallied in support
of Bahrain’s Shiites on the same day as Bahrain’s opposition mounted a major demonstration.
King Hamad did not attend the March 27-29 Arab League summit in Baghdad, instead sending a
relatively low-level delegation. As have the other GCC states, Bahrain’s government blamed
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki for marginalizing Iraq’s Sunnis and provoking the rise of the
Islamic State organization in Iraq.
Bahrain, like the other GCC states, have also blamed Syrian President Bashar Al Assad for
authoritarian policies that alienated Syria’s majority Sunni population and stoked support for the
Islamic State organization. In August 2011, Bahrain joined the other GCC countries in
withdrawing their ambassadors to Syria. In November 2011, the GCC voted with other Arab
League states to suspend Syria’s membership in the body. Unlike several of the other GCC states,
Bahrain’s government has not provided funding or weaponry to any Syrian opposition groups,
including those that are battling both the Islamic State and the Assad government.
Bahrain and the other GCC states assert that destroying the Islamic State organization requires
Assad’s ouster, in addition to military and other action against Islamic State positions in Syria.
Even though the objective of the U.S.-led coalition is to destroy the Islamic State organization,
and not Assad, as of September 22, 2014, Bahrain (as well as GCC allies Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and
the United Arab Emirates) has joined in U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State positions in
Syria. Possibly in light of sensitivities of Iraq’s Shiite-led government, neither Bahrain nor any of
the other GCC members of the U.S.-led coalition has engaged in anti-Islamic State air operations
in Iraq, to date. At a September 11, 2014, GCC meeting in Jeddah with Secretary of State John
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Kerry, Bahrain also offered to host a meeting to coordinate joint international action against the
Islamic State organization’s finances.61
Arab-Israeli Issues
On the Arab-Israeli dispute, Bahrain has not been as significant a mediator or broker as have its
larger neighbors in the Gulf or broader Middle East. However, Bahrain has at times advanced
ideas to move the Arab-Israeli peace process forward. In July 2009, Crown Prince Salman
authored an op-ed calling on the Arab states to do more to communicate directly with the Israeli
people on their ideas for peaceful resolution of the dispute.62 In October 2009, Bahrain’s foreign
minister called for direct talks with Israel. Like most Arab states, Bahrain is supporting the efforts
of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to obtain U.N. recognition for a State of
Palestine, despite U.S. opposition to doing so prior to a Palestinian-Israeli peace settlement.
Earlier, Bahrain participated in the 1990-1996 multilateral Arab-Israeli talks, and it hosted a
session on the environment (October 1994). Bahrain did not follow Oman and Qatar in
exchanging trade offices with Israel. In September 1994, all GCC states ceased enforcing
secondary and tertiary boycotts of Israel while retaining the ban on direct trade (primary boycott).
In conjunction with the U.S.-Bahrain FTA, Bahrain dropped the primary boycott and closed
boycott-related offices in Bahrain.
Still, the Arab-Israeli dispute always has the potential to become a political issue within Bahrain.
In October 2009, the elected COR passed a bill making it a crime (punishable by up to five years
in jail) for Bahrainis to travel to Israel or hold talks with Israelis. The bill, which did not become
law, apparently was a reaction to a visit by Bahraini officials to Israel in July 2009. The visit was
to obtain the release of five Bahrainis taken prisoner by Israel when it seized a ship bound with
goods for Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. In June 2010, Sunni and Shiite Islamists in
Bahrain held a demonstration to denounce the Israeli seizure of a ship in a flotilla intended to run
the Israeli blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. During a visit to Manama by Palestinian
Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in late July 2014, King Hamad criticized Israel and called
for the international community to halt the conflict between Israel and Hamas in which Hamas
launched rockets and other assaults on Israel and Israel sought to cripple Hamas’ ability to attack
Israel from Gaza.63
Other Regional Issues
On other regional issues, Bahrain has stayed within a GCC consensus, although Bahrain’s
resource constraints and focus on the internal situation prevent it from taking as active a role
regionally as the other GCC states. Unlike Qatar and UAE, Bahrain did not play a significant role
in the effort to oust Libyan leader Muammar Al Qadhafi. Had Bahrain intervened in Libya, doing
so could have been viewed as a contradiction—supporting revolution in another Arab state while
61 Testimony of Secretary of State John Kerry before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “U.S. Strategy on ISIL.”
September 17, 2014.
62 “Arabs Need to Talk to the Israelis.” Washington Post, July 16, 2009.
63 “Fresh Challenge to U.S.-Bahrain Relations.” op.cit.
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arguing that its domestic opposition lacks legitimacy. Bahrain did join the GCC diplomatic
efforts, which yielded success in November 2011, to persuade Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah
Saleh to cede power to a transition process. He left Yemen in January 2012.
Anti-Terrorism Cooperation
The United States works with Bahrain’s Interior Ministry on counter-terrorism issues, but U.S.
cooperation with that Ministry has been limited somewhat by the uprising. Not only are forces
controlled by the ministry responsible for many of the abuses against protesters, but the current
director of the internal security service is Shaykh Khalifa bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, considered a
hardliner. Still, many assess that the Ministry has reformed since the late 1990s, when Bahrain’s
internal security services were run by a former British colonial police officer, Ian Henderson, who
had a reputation among Shiites for using excessive brutality.
At the start of FY2012, the Administration “reviewed” the use of NADR-ATA support to Bahrain
to ensure that none was used “against protestors” in the 2011 unrest. The FY2014 and FY2015
budget justifications said that NADR-ATA support would continue to go to the Ministry of
Interior primarily to help it investigate and respond to the use of explosives by “terrorists.” The
budget document appears to be referring to the increased use of bombings and violence by
underground oppositionists, discussed above. The State Department, as noted above, has placed
on hold license requests for small arms and related equipment to the Bahraini government in
general. Some of the NADR-ATA funds have previously been used to provide training to its
counterterrorism institutions, to augment the ability of Bahraini forces to protect U.S. diplomatic
and military facilities in Bahrain, and to help train Bahrain’s police contingent in Afghanistan
guard Camp Leatherneck in Helmand Province.
The State Department’s report on international terrorism for 2013 (released April 30, 2014)64
continues to credit Bahrain with strongly cooperating with U.S. and international
counterterrorism efforts. Bahrain has hosted the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action
Task Force (MENA/FATF) secretariat, and its Central Bank, Financial Information Unit (within
the Central Bank), and local banks have cooperated with U.S. efforts against terrorism financing
and money laundering. It is that expertise that perhaps led Bahrain to offer to host a broad
meeting, as discussed above, to discuss ways of constricting the Islamic State’s finances. In
August and September 2013, the government amended the Charity Fundraising Law of 1956 to
tighten terrorism financing monitoring and penalties. The State Department report for 2013 also
credits Bahrain with working “proactively” to expand air, sea and Saudi-Bahrain causeway border
control points.
Economic Issues
Like the other Gulf states, Bahrain was affected by the international financial crisis of 2008-2009,
but perhaps to a lesser extent than the wealthier states of Kuwait, UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
Bahrain did not experience the construction and real estate “bubble” to the degree that this
occurred in, for example, UAE. It is also apparently being affected by the 2011 unrest; in May
64 http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224823.htm
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2011 Moody’s, a bond rating agency, downgraded the quality of Bahrain’s bonds, thereby costing
the government more to borrow funds.
Bahrain has little cushion to deal with economic downturns. It has the lowest oil and gas reserves
of the Gulf monarchy states, estimated respectively at 210 million barrels of oil and 5.3 trillion
cubic feet of gas. Some economic statistics are presented in Table 3. Without the ample oil or gas
resources of its neighbors, Bahrain has diversified its economy by emphasizing banking and
financial services (about 25.5% of GDP). At current rates of production (35,000 barrels per day of
crude oil), Bahrain’s onshore oil reserves will be exhausted in 15 years. However, Saudi Arabia
shares equally with Bahrain the 300,000 barrels per day produced from the offshore Abu Safa
field, which provides about 70% of the funds expended in Bahrain’s annual budget.
The United States buys virtually no oil from Bahrain; the major U.S. import from it is aluminum.
Aluminum and other manufacturing sectors in Bahrain account for the existence in Bahrain of a
vibrant middle and working class among its citizens. However, these classes are largely
composed of Shiites, and this has made many Shiites envious of the “ownership class” of Sunni
Muslims. On the other hand, many Shiites own businesses and have done well economically.
To encourage reform and signal U.S. appreciation, the United States and Bahrain signed an FTA
on September 14, 2004. Implementing legislation was signed January 11, 2006 (P.L. 109-169).
However, in light of the unrest, the AFL-CIO has urged the United States to void the FTA on the
grounds that Bahrain is preventing free association of workers and abridging their rights.
In 2013, the United States exported about $1.017 billion in goods to Bahrain, lower than the
$1.21 billion exported in 2012. The United States imported $636 million in goods from Bahrain,
slightly lower than the $700 million imported in 2012. In 2005, total bilateral trade was about
$780 million, suggesting that trade has more than doubled since the U.S.-Bahrain FTA.
U.S. Assistance. Most U.S. assistance to Bahrain in military assistance under the Foreign Military
Financing (FMF) program, discussed above. However, some in Congress seek to provide
assistance to Bahrain for non-military purposes, in order to support a political solution to the
unrest. The report on a Senate foreign operations appropriations bill for FY2015 (S.Rept. 113-195
on S. 2499) states that the Appropriations Committee directs that at least $3.5 million in
Economic Support Funds (ESF) be made available for “programs and activities to promote
reconciliation, democratic reform, and adherence to international human rights and labor rights
standards in Bahrain.
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Table 3. Some Basic Facts About Bahrain
Population
About 1.25 million, of which slightly less than half are citizens
Religions
Nearly all the citizenry is Muslim, while Christians, Hindus,
Bahais, and Jews constitute about 1% of the citizenry. Of the
total population, 70% is Muslim, 9% is Christian, 10% are of other
religions.
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$35 billion (2013)
Budget
$8.14 billion revenues, $9.23 billion expenditures (2013)
Inflation Rate
3% (2013)
Unemployment Rate
15%
GDP Real Growth Rate
4.4% in 2013
Size of Bahrain Defense Forces (BDF)
About 13,000, plus about 1,200 National Guard. Some personnel
are expatriates, including other Arab and Pakistani.
Source: CIA, The World Factbook.
Table 4. U.S. Assistance to Bahrain
($ in millions)
FY2003
04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15
request
FMF
90.0
24.6 18.9 15.6 15
3.968 8.0 19.0 15.46 10 12.575 10
7.5
IMET
0.448
0.60 0.65 0.65 0.616 0.622 .661 .670 .435 .554 .487 .725
.801
NADR
1.49
2.76
.776
0.744
.500
1.10
1.5
.50
.45 .45 .45
“Section
1206”
5.3
24.54
4.3
16.2
ESF/Dem.
3.0
and Gov.
Notes: IMET = International Military Education and Training Funds, used mainly to enhance BDF military
professionalism and promote U.S. values. NADR = Non-Proliferation, Anti-Terrorism, De-Mining and Related
Programs, used to sustain Bahrain’s counterterrorism capabilities and interdict terrorists. Section 1206 are DOD funds
used to train and equip Bahrain’s special forces, its coastal surveillance and patrol capabilities, and to develop its
counterterrorism assessment capabilities. (Named for a section of the FY2006 Defense Authorization Act, P.L. 109-
163.). FY2014 amounts from State Dept. documents and H.R. 3547 (P.L. 113-76).
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Figure 1. Bahrain
Source: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ba.html.
Author Contact Information
Kenneth Katzman
Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs
kkatzman@crs.loc.gov, 7-7612
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