Neighboring Sunni Gulf states invaded Bahrain to crush its cross-sectarian uprising

Evidence

Member countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)—Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait—sent their forces over the bridge into Bahrain on March 14 and surrounded the small island, helping the crown prince to crush the protests and annihilate the opposition. There were far more troops roaming the streets than necessary, and they were terrifying. The opposition was rounded up, and authorities cracked down especially hard on Sunnis like Ebrahim Sharif who had “broken ranks” and betrayed their putative allies in the ruling Sunni minority. They obliterated the Pearl Roundabout—paving over it in such a way that you can’t even find where it used to be—and named the new construction after a historical figure hated by the Shia, a clear slap in the face to the majority. — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 255

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Base Nation and its account of US naval basing priorities shaping foreign policy outcomes. — connects to: Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy rules a Shia majority it systematically privileges against — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 249; US naval basing and Saudi alliance interests silenced Western outcry over Bahrain’s crackdown — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 256; Bahrain outsourced its repression to foreign Sunni mercenaries — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and…, 250 (+1 more)
• SEED: Angle for an essay: how US basing interests (Fifth Fleet) and Sunni-ruled ally protection override the democracy/protest principles the US lip-serves — a sharper case than base-host abuses elsewhere.

Broader Connections

• Bahrain outsourced its repression to foreign Sunni mercenaries #expands (0.78) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 250
• American bases in Bahrain make the U.S. complicit in human rights abuse #complicates (0.72)