The Wall Street Journal, in a story dated March 15, 2011, “Saudis Send Force to Bolster Bahrain,” reports that Saudi Arabia sent troops, and the United Arab Emirates sent police officers, to Bahrain in response to protests against the government. This highlights the need for the U.S. to reevaluate its role in the region.
The action is being taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain. Freedom House ranks each of these as “Not Free,” except Kuwait, which it ranks as “Partly Free.”
The U.S. should terminate its security arrangements with the Gulf States, and end its military presence in the region. This would be part of the process of the U.S. unwinding its military empire in favor of focusing on its own defense, rather than endeavoring to secure the world. The Gulf States, like other nations dependent on the U.S., should create their own security.
The U.S. entanglement with the Gulf States is unnecessary for its own security. It also invites the risk of the U.S. being drawn into regional conflicts.
The U.S. backing of the monarchs, who stifle the freedom of the people under their rule, makes it complicit in the rulers’ denial of liberty. The U.S. cannot make the Gulf States free, but it can end its involvement in keeping them unfree.
Doug Bandow of the Cato Institute observes, regarding ending the empire:
“The issue is not just money. The Constitution envisions a limited government focused on defending Americans, not transforming the rest of the world. Moreover, if Washington continues to act as globocop, America’s friends and allies will never have an incentive to do more.”
It is time for the U.S. to do less and return its military to its proper role under the Constitution.
[Dead links deleted: June 25, 2016]
