Nervous U.S. Navy Eyes on Bahrain

Posted by Mark Thompson 

U.S. and Bahraini officials launch expansion of U.S. base last May / DoD photo

While the troubles in Egypt and Tunisia are important in Washington's geo-strategic calculations, they don't rank highly in its selfish concern over real estate. All that changes when it comes to the tiny Persian Gulf state of Bahrain, an island tucked between Saudi Arabia and Qatar on the gulf's western shore with fewer than 1 million residents. The home of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet -- and a recently-launched $580 million U.S. expansion effort slated to double the U.S. Navy's acreage there -- could be in jeopardy if Bahrain's monarchy falls.

Read more: http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2011/02/15/nervous-u-s-navy-eyes-on-bahrain/#ixzz1E31sCwmO