Bahrain's Brutal Crackdown Will Inspire a Movement

It’s a little difficult for us in the west to ascertain what’s going on in Bahrain, and a number of other countries as well (Yemen, Iraq, Libya), in some part because these countries are so small, and, unlike Egypt, there are fewer people able to report to us. (More people live in the greater Memphis, Tennessee, metro area than live in all of Bahrain, and Bahrain’s capital — Manama! — has a proper population of fewer than 200,000. So that means when there are thousands of people occupying the area around the Pearl (or Lulu) roundabout, that’s huge. It’s also huge when the state descends on the camp of protesters in the middle of the night, shooting, wounding at least 200.

This is where the demonstrations have been. Zoom out for context.

This, unfortunately, is video from about an hour ago.

But this isn’t the end of the story, even if the state military says “Bahrain defence forces will take all necessary measures to secure safety, order and stability.” Because, what happens when a regime tries to slaughter its citizens? They are furious.

Kenyon talked to ppl b4/after #lulu attack. B4, most said they just wanted political/econ reform. Now they want regime toppled. #BahrainThu Feb 17 13:30:04 via TweetDeck

Andy Carvin
acarvin

Unfortunately, Bahrain forces, just like every other idiot government operation, are also beating up the media, including my old pal Miguel Marquez, who seems to be fine.

Dear Govt of Bahrain, I’d like my camera back, with the disc inside and please do not copy or view material from it.less than a minute ago via Twitter for BlackBerry®

Miguel Marquez
miguelmarquez