Washington's support of dictators STILL depends on 'strategic interests' ...

"The U.S. is stepping up its support for Bahrain's beleaguered ruling family, throwing a lifeline to a key ally and signaling Washington's willingness to vary its approach depending on its strategic interests and the willingness of autocratic leaders to respond to popular protests. After backing opposition calls for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Col. Moammar Gadhafi in Libya, President Barack Obama has tentatively embraced efforts by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa of Bahrain to ease tensions and advance reform, despite an initial wave of violence against protesters...

The U.S. military is playing a key role behind the scenes in the Obama administration's decision making, underlining Bahrain's strategic importance as the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and as a bulwark against Iran, according to officials and diplomats.

The kingdom's use of force against widespread protests left seven dead ........

The show of U.S. support for the ruling family follows a lobbying push by Bahrain and its main ally in the region, Saudi Arabia, the officials and diplomats said. in private talks in recent days, Bahraini officials have appealed to the Obama administration to lend higher-level support for the king ...Without Washington's support, Bahraini officials told the Americans, the kingdom risked slipping into a "sectarian divide," pitting a Shiite majority against ruling Sunnis. Bahraini officials also warned the U.S. that Iran would be the big winner...Saudi lobbying on behalf of Bahrain underscores Riyadh's fears that it could come under pressure next, if its neighbor succumbs to the opposition, Arab officials said.......

Anthony Cordesman, an expert on the region with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, said the Obama administration understood that it can't respond to the unrest sweeping the region with a "one-size-fits-all" approach..."