"... But delegates from several countries noted over post-dinner drinks that his failure to say anything positive about the United States, which keeps the Navy's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and supplies the island kingdom with more arms than any other country, could not have been an accident or an oversight.
Was the crown prince's snub a reaction to the fact that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointedly decided not to attend this year's Manama Dialogue? After all, she was the featured speaker at the very same opening dinner the last time the conference was convened in 2010. Also, Clinton will be traveling to Tunisia and the UAE in the coming days, but won't stop in Bahrain.
More likely, according to conference delegates, the crown prince's speech was a reflection of the Bahraini royal family's frustration with U.S. policy, which has sometimes included sharp criticisms of Manama's treatment of its own citizens..."
No comments:
Post a Comment