Bahrain urges a U.S. attack on Iran
Bahrainâ??s foreign minister has a pointed message for President Obama: Youâ??ve denounced Iranâ??s plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in Washington and warned that Iran â??will pay a price.â? But what is the U.S. actually going to do about Iran to show that itâ??s serious?â??Weâ??re asking the U.S. to stand up for its interests and draw the red lines,â? Sheikh Khalid Al-Khalifa, the Bahraini foreign minister told me. He referred to Iran-sponsored attacks on American forces in Lebanon and Iraq and asked: â??How many times have you lost lives, been subject to terrorist activities and yet we havenâ??t seen any proper response. This is really serious. Itâ??s coming to your shores now.â?
Khalifaâ??s worries about American power echo what you read these days in the Arab press, and hear privately from Arab officials. But the Bahraini official, whoâ??s in Washington this week talking to U.S. officials, was unusually blunt in the interview at his hotel suite. - David Ignatius
We frequently hear that humiliation is a major problem in the Arab world but the leaders of the Gulf monarchies apparently feel no compunction about hiding behind the United States while goading it to fight their battles.
