Orange County

In a significant move for the Persian Gulf region, the government of this tiny island nation pledged Saturday to send its best warship to assist the U.S.-led coalition against terrorism in Afghanistan and provide humanitarian assistance there.

Although Bahrain has long been an ally of the United States, the repercussions from Sept. 11 have brought the two countries even closer. In October, President Bush named Bahrain a major non-NATO ally. For its part, the government here has suggested that its neighbors also become more cooperative with Washington.

Other Persian Gulf nations have opted to remain quiet about the assistance they are providing the coalition, but the Bahraini ruling family has been outspoken in its support, both in this country and in visits to the U.S.

For the U.S., Bahrain provides a home for the Navy’s 5th Fleet and a hub for air and sea activities. For Bahrain, the smallest and least affluent of the six Gulf Cooperation Council nations, the presence of the fleet provides a sense of security necessary for economic growth and political stability.

“If you shoot at the capital city of Manama, you’re shooting at the U.S. Navy,” said U.S. Ambassador Ronald E. Neumann. “That’s not a political statement, that’s a fact.”

Although it has been largely violence-free in recent years, Bahrain has suffered terrorist attacks in the past. An Iranian-backed group calling itself Bahraini-Hezbollah was linked to a series of bombings and riots that claimed about 30 lives in the 1990s.

Since Sept. 11, the Bahraini emir, Sheik Hamed ibn Isa Khalifa, and his crown prince and heir, Sheik Salman ibn Hamed Khalifa, have sought to take a leadership role among the Persian Gulf states to convince them that security is best achieved through cooperation with the U.S. Last week, the crown prince issued a statement to the government-controlled media decrying “the vacuum in the Arab world” on security issues.

Gulf Council to Discuss Regional Security

Saturday’s announcement was timed for maximum political impact on the eve of the 22nd summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Muscat, Oman, where regional security will be a key topic. The members are Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Bahrain’s cooperative spirit has already gained favor with key U.S. congressional leaders.

“Bahrain clearly wants a leadership role for itself and believes it can be an example of how you can transition to democracy and civil rights and still maintain Islamic culture,” said Rep. Darrell E. Issa (R-Vista), one of six Arab Americans in Congress and a member of the Middle East subcommittee of the House International Relations Committee.

Issa, who was in Bahrain when the military offensive against Afghanistan began Oct. 7, said in a telephone interview that almost alone among Arab countries, the Bahraini leadership “says the same things abroad that it says to its own people. It is showing that it is possible to remain sovereign and still be comfortable with the presence of the U.S.”

In a ceremony aboard the guided-missile frigate Bans Sabha--the flagship of the 1,000-man, 15-ship Bahraini navy--military officials said they were “honored” to be part of the U.S.-led coalition ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches Afghanistan. This will be the first time that a Bahraini vessel has ventured outside coastal waters, officials said.

“This is not an exercise. This is a real deployment,” said Col. Saqur H. Maawdah, the ship’s commanding officer. The Bans Sabha is a former U.S. Navy ship--the Jack Williams--that was sold to the Bahrainis under a military agreement between the two countries.

A nation of about 650,000 people, Bahrain has only limited oil supplies and is trying to wean itself away from oil revenues and reshape its economy to emphasize tourism and commercial development. Manama has already become a regional banking center, and hotels and apartment buildings are sprouting throughout the bustling city.

In an effort to present an aura of progressiveness, the ruling family has eased regulations that once held dissent in check. Political prisoners have been released and preventive detention laws dropped.

The nation also is preparing for municipal elections next year, in a move toward establishing a kind of constitutional monarchy.

Iran and Iraq are seen as potential adversaries of Bahrain, and the specter of Osama bin Laden or other terrorist leaders seeking refuge on the remote islands of the Bahraini archipelago has Bahraini officials concerned.

Said a Western official: “Bahrain is a small country in a difficult neighborhood.”