WASHINGTON — the Obama administration expressed alarm over a violent punishment on government demonstrators in Central U.S. ally Bahrain on Thursday as a wave of political upheaval moved across the Middle East.
U.S. chiefs by the Pentagon and State Department known as their counterparts in Bahrain, his home to U.S. Navys 5th fleet and an anchor in U.S. defense strategy in the Middle East.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called Bahrain Foreign Minister to track Washington's "deep concern" about overnight developments in which the army patrols and tanks locked in the capital of small Gulf Kingdom after riot police fired tear gas and beat demonstrators demanding political reforms. At least four people were killed.
Clinton spoke with the Minister for Foreign Affairs about how to respond to the demands of the protesters, Foreign Ministry said.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke by telephone Thursday morning with Crown Prince Salman of Bahrain, Deputy Head of the Bahrain Defence, said Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell.
Morrell gave no information on what Gates said, except that he "discussed the current security situation" with the Prince.
Navy officials in the Pentagon 5th fleet headquarters in Bahrain have said they shall monitor developments in Bahrain to sailors and civilian staff and family members who have been informed to avoid protest sites. Officials have not reported any impact on their operations from the turmoil.
5Th fleet operating at least one aircraft carrier in the region Persian Gulf, at all times, together with a "amfibie ready group" of ships with Marines on board. Their presence is central to a long-standing U.S. commitment to ensure a free flow of oil through the Gulf, while keeping an eye on a hostile Iran and seek to deter piracy in the region.
Elsewhere in the Middle East, thousands of Yemeni protesters defied appeal to calm from the military and the country's most influential Islamic cleric and marched through the capital city on Thursday. Libyan protesters seeking to oust his leader Moammar Gadhafi defied a punishment and took to the streets in four cities.
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