Bahrain has made a profound mistake.

The 16 March crackdown on the Bahrain people (see: Curfew follows deadly Bahrain crackdown) is another unacceptable episode by a bunch of rich thugs intimidating and abusing a population.  There is almost no discussion possible on this subject.  It is clear to the world that the authoritarian rulers are no less than bullies and thugs.  They promise talks and then renege on them.  They call in foreign armies to help them brutally crackdown on legitimate demonstrators.  They kill civilians, they smash up their cars, they go into hospitals and beat up the doctors and steal the injured patients away to secret locations.

On the left is an image of an x-ray of a demonstrator's abdomen.  The injured person has been shot with buckshot at close range and the chances of survival are low.  Doctors have had their arms broken to prevent them helping the injured.  This is clearly unacceptable behaviour.

Why would the US and the UK support such brutal thugs?  Well of course we know the US has a military naval fleet based there and many countries including the UK have serious interests in the oil the country has.  But they have a profound problem.  They supported the people of Tunisia and they supported the people of Egypt.  Their support was based on the horror of the overtly cruel treatment of legitimate protestors.  The idea being that we collectively do not approve of, and will not accept, brutal and cruel actions towards other human beings who are peacefully expressing their views in an attempt to overpower and control them.

So we are in a position where the consensus is clear.  Cruel oppression of other people is unacceptable.  Brutally bashing people about, killing them, imprisoning and torturing them is not something any legitimate government can accept.  This view is expressed almost unanimously around the globe.  Even brutal dictators pay lip service to this sentiment.

So the Bahraini King, Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa, has made the profound mistake of trying to hang on to power by deception and brutality.  It really doesn't matter if he succeeds in the short term now because the population are destined to continue to object.  One day they will overthrow the Al Khalifa family and it will be as clear as day that the US and the UK were supporting his regime.  This will lead to very bad relations between the countries and eventually to a strangle hold on the vital oil supplies from the Middle East in general.  Will the US and Britain and the European countries respect the "rights" of the Arab people to charge a reasonable premium amount of dosh for the oil.  Not on your Nellie.

The British people and the Americans should voice their unwavering support for the legitimate rights of the Bahraini people.  They might suffer in the short term but would be viewed well in the long term.  But no.  They are still short sighted because of their fear of the general unrest in the Middle East and their loss of control over the economic wealth of the region.