The Hill News

A year has passed and propaganda continues to misrepresent the evolution of my country. Bahrain â€" known as the Pearl of the Gulf, the land of a million palm trees, the island of a thousand smiles â€" is now referred to as just another “dictatorship” with a brutal regime.

This propaganda has distorted our reality. In Congress, this distorted reality has resulted in a call by some members to delay a $53 million arms sale that is critical both to our national security and to American interests in the Gulf. Bahrain has long been an outpost of progressivism in the Middle East and is proud to host the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. We will continue to respond to the will and need of our people to create greater representation in government.

Today’s Bahrain is wiser than it was a year ago. Our efforts to find a new national unity and move progressively and candidly forward have been embraced by our neighbors, friends and international organizations. Bah! rain has demonstrated its strong commitment to reform and national reconciliation in the year following the outbreak of unrest in February 2011.

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