Bahrain: Unrest, Security, and U.S. Policy
Abstract
Bahrain is a small island nation, ruled by a hereditary monarchy, that is in a partnership with other Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf called the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman). Bahrain is led by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who succeeded his father, Shaykh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, upon his death in 1999. U.S.-Bahrain ties are long-standing and have deepened over the past four decades as the Gulf region has become highly volatile. The country has hosted a U.S. naval command headquarters for the Gulf region since 1948, and the United States and Bahrain have had a formal Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) since 1991. In 2004, Bahrain was designated by the United States as a major non-NATO ally. There are nearly 5,000 U.S. forces, mostly Navy, serving at the naval facility and other bases in Bahrain, and the country is a significant buyer of U.S.-made arms. In 2014, Bahrain joined the U.S.-led coalition combatting the Islamic State and flew strikes against the groups fighters in Syria that year. Bahrain generally supports de facto GCC leader Saudi Arabia, which provides Bahrain with substantial financial support. In 2015, Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia-led military action to try to restore the government of Yemen that was ousted by Iran-backed Houthi rebels. In 2017, it joined a Saudi and UAE move to isolate Qatar. Bahrain, like several other GCC states, has been building ties to Israel over the past three years and it hosted the June 2019 economic workshop that preceded the Trump Administrations Israeli-Palestinian peace plan unveiled in January 2020. In September 2020, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu signed agreements at the White House to fully normalize Israels relations with Bahrain, as well as with the United Arab Emirates.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2021
- Accession Number
- AD1132680
Entities
People
- Kenneth Katzman
Organizations
- Congressional Research Service