Well, isn't this interesting?
Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members seek to deepen ties with Ankara, as the archipelago kingdom, which is one of the Middle East’s brightest sectarian flashpoints, sees itself as increasingly vulnerable to the rise of ultra-violent Salafist jihadis as well as Iran’s ascendancy across the Arab world.
It is disturbing enough that our traditional Arab allies--and Bahrain hosts our 5th Fleet--are not sure enough about American leadership to really count on us to resist Iran, what with that Iran nuclear deal nonsense that seeks to turn Iran into a responsible (non-nuclear) regional power and partner.
But Bahrain turning to Turkey as a friend seems like a problem for America given that Turkey seems to be bending to the Russia-Iran axis.
Could a Bahrain turn to Turkey become a turn to Russia given Turkey's evolution in orientation?
Would Russian support for the minority Alawite (kinda sorta like Shias) government in Syria and for Shia (but Persian and not Arab) Iran be seen by Bahrain as a better way to protect minority Sunni-run Bahrain's government from subversion aimed at the Shia majority population?
For all that liberals like to say that Bush 43 destroyed our reputation in the Moslem world, his resolve to fight and win the Iraq War despite the opposition of our left gave our Arab allies no doubt that we could be counted on when the chips were down.
Now? Not so much.
