Manama: Senator John McCain said Washington is committed to keeping its Gulf naval hub in Bahrain despite the recent unrest in the kingdom.
McCain, the ranking member of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said the US has “too much invested” in Bahrain to consider shifting the Navy’s 5th Fleet to another country. The 5th Fleet is the Pentagon’s main counterweight to Iran’s expanding military presence in the Gulf.
McCain was in Bahrain to attend the Manama Dialogue, an annual conference in the kingdom bringing together security and diplomatic officials,
Washington has been pushed into a difficult position by Bahrain’s 22-month unrest. It backs Bahrain’s monarchy, but US officials have grown increasingly uneasy over crackdowns against Bahrain’s opposition, which is seeking a greater political voice.
There was speculation that Bahrain had snubbed the US when Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa, in a speech on Saturday singled out the United Kingdom as having supported Manama during the unrest, while omitting mention of the US.
McCain said on Sunday that he held talks with Bahrain’s king and opposition groups during a global security summit.
