Why My Friend in Bahrain Is Unhappy with the U.S.

                                               AP photo

Janine Zacharia of the Washington Post reports tonight:

The United States last year provided Bahrain with about $21 million in military assistance, a substantial amount given the country's relatively small size [that's $42 per Bahraini citizen]. Of that total, about $1 million was designated for counterterrorism aid, much of it to the police and military forces that are suppressing the protests in the country's capital.

Simply put, the teargas cannisters used to disperse demonstrators yesterday--and presumably the live ammunition used today--was not just made in the USA but paid for by USA taxpayers.

And then Americans wonder why Arabs on the street get angry at the US government. Our government needs to encourage the Al Khalifa regime to stop killing its own citizens and to engage in rapid reform. Or else we will have a much larger problem on our hands.