Al Khalifa Compromising Bahrain Security with Pacts with Washington

One of them is the Al Khalifa regime of Bahrain which, lacking popular legitimacy and seeing its rule in danger, signs various agreements with the Americans to stay in power longer. In recent days, Bahraini Interior Minister Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa visited Washington for talks. During the visit, reports said, three agreements on terrorism funding, cyber-security, and drone systems were signed. 

At the meeting, Al Khalifa emphasized the importance of international cooperation in the field of drone systems and said that international cooperation is a vital issue in the field of combating cyber attacks and building the power of cyber-security. A few months ago, Bahrain signed six agreements with the US in industry, logistics, and space science. 

A set of points are mentionable regarding the recent agreements. Having in mind that the US-eyed regional coalition is shrouded in ambiguity due to opposition of some Arab states, the Americans are trying to advance their anti-Iranian agenda by signing bilateral pacts with the Arab monarchies. 

The fact that the US signs drone systems agreement with such a country as Bahrain which had not been threatened by any group so far shows that it is part of "Middle East Air Shield" program to counter Axis of Resistance's drone power and Iranian missiles. Axis of Resistance is a regional bloc led by Iran and including Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Palestine that counters American projects in West Asia. Although Bahrain assisted Saudi Arabia and the UAE with all its strength in Yemen war, in the past 8 years, unlike other members of the Saudi-led coalition, no missile or drone threats have been directed at this country by the Yemenis. Thus, the sole purpose of signing the agreement with Bahrain is monitoring Iran's missiles and drones from Bahrain which is a short distance from Iran. Bahrain hosts the US Fifth Fleet which is as an easy target for Iranian missile and drone strikes. By adding drones article to the agreement, the Americans hope they can cut the threats on their naval vessels. In other words, the potential drone threats are more to the American interests than to Bahrain. 

Another point about this agreement is related to cyber-security with which many countries dealing these days. 

Bahrain, which is a weak country in the cyberspace, has leaned towards the US to get its assistance in the face of any cyber-attacks. At the time of the normalization of relations with the Israeli regime, in order to show that being close to the Israelis would bring them more security, the Bahrainis bragged about Tel Aviv’s advances and acted as if all their problems would be solved, but over time it became clear that they cannot count on the Israelis. 

In recent years, cyber-security has been at the center of the security concerns of (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council states. At the meeting of its foreign ministers in November 2021, the importance of enhancing cooperation mechanisms in cyber-security, the development of joint projects to fight crime, and promotion of collective security were emphasized. Even at the meeting of the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with his Israeli, Egyptian, Emirati, Saudi, and Bahraini counterparts in Negev and recently in Bahrain, in addition to Arab air defense shield to counter the so-called Iranian threats, cyber-attacks were a point of discussion. 

The Arab reliance on the Israeli technological breakthroughs in cyberspace comes as over the past two years, it has been grappling with heavy waves of cyber-attacks and unsuccessful to repel them in many cases. Israeli officials have recently admitted that in the past year, hundreds of cyber-attacks have been carried out on security and economic centers in the occupied territories and they failed to thwart them. So, Tel Aviv which is highly unsuccessful in dealing with cyber-attacks on its centers, without a doubt, cannot help others. That is why the Bahraini rulers shifted to the US. Actually, this shift shows that the Israelis failed to assure the Arab monarchies that they can help them in cyber-security. 

Another issue in the recent Washington-Manama agreement is the fight against terrorism. Bahrain is among the small number of the regional states where no terrorist attacks have taken place. Although Bahrain is opposed to Muslim Brotherhood influence in the region and regards the group a threat to its security, stances by Manama leaders against the Islamist group are far from independent and driven by the Saudis and in practice it poses no challenges to Al Khalifa rule. Adding the fight against terrorism to the pact is, therefore, meant to crack down on the Shiites who in the last decade led a peaceful protest movement against Al Khalifa despotism only to meet the government's iron fist. During this decade, deep-rooted and popular parties like Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society as an opposition with powerful presence in the parliament and the society were banned and their leaders in show courts were handed long-term prison sentences. Sheikh Ali Salman, Al-Wefaq chief, is an example. Despite rights advocacy during election campaign of the US President Joe Biden, the Bahraini government has been immune to White House punitive measures, and it seems that the new agreement is a codename for an American green light for a fresh wave of crackdown on the Shiites, especially the opponents of normalization, and a prelude to Manama presence in the anti-Resistance camp coalition. 

In general, security agreements with the Americans and Israelis not only bring Bahrain no immunity but also Al Khalifa exposes itself to security threats by joining the anti-Iranian plans. Saudi Arabia and UAE experience indicates that going under Washington and Tel Aviv protection umbrella does not help with setting up an efficient defense shield against Resistance camp's drones and missiles.