The Hill News

On any given weekend the King Fahd causeway is jammed with Americans trying to get into Bahrain for some fun. They travel along this 16-mile causeway separating the oil-poor, but dynamic Kingdom of Bahrain from the oil-rich, conservative Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This island nation of one million people may be small (30 miles long by 10 miles wide) but it is of enormous geopolitical significance to the United States. As President Obama turns his focus on solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his administration should not loose sight of the country that has been the anchor of America’s policy of protecting the oil-rich Persian Gulf. As former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral William Crowe once noted: “Pound for pound, Bahrain has been and continues to be America’s best friend in the region.”

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