Bahrain: The U.S. Makes a Symbolic Gesture of Support for Its Allies

On June 29, State Department spokesman John Kirby announced that the United States had lifted certain holds on security assistance to both the Bahrain Defense Force and Bahrain's national guard, citing improvement in the area of human rights reform. The New York Times further reported that the United States would continue its policy of not supplying equipment to the Interior Ministry. The Obama administration's strategy in the Middle East has been to eschew direct involvement, preferring instead to lean on regional partners to accomplish its goals. With the Islamic State on the rise, a civil war in Syria and Iran continuing to push for influence even as it negotiates with the United States, lifting nominal restrictions on Bahrain is a symbolic gesture meant to boost confidence in Saudi Arabia and other U.S. partners in the region. It is also indicative of the evolution of the Obama administration's foreign policy in the wake of the recent uprisings across the Arab world. This foreign policy has increasingly discarded the notion that American values and political interests can be aligned and has opted instead for simple political realism.