Bahrain, with its three quarters of a million people, may seem a tiny concern, but the island nation is home to the US 5th Fleet, and has long been one of the outposts of moderation, relative tolerance, and fairly enlightened rule, at least by regional standards. A causeway connects Bahrain to the Saudi mainland, and leisure-minded Saudis often drive there to enjoy pleasures forbidden at home. An acquaintance of mine who used to visit Bahrain quite frequently recalled with fondness the friendly and open attitudes found there toward Westerners.But a Shiite majority lives in comparative poverty under the government of a Sunni ruling family. Borzou Daragahi of the Los Angeles Times writes of a worrisome heightening of tensions between Shiites and the Sunnis, driven at least in part by the examples of Iran, Iraq's Shiites, and Hezb'allah. In reaction, a hard-line Sunni faction, influenced by Al Qaeda, has developed within the ruling family.One faction believes in reconciliation with the...(Read Full Post)