5th Fleet

Security forces in tiny but strategic Bahrain launched a brutal assault early Thursday against at least 1,000 defiant anti-government protesters, including women and children, camped out in tents in the capital's Pearl Square. A barrage of tear gas canisters thundered across the square about 3 a.m. as dozens of police cars, armored security vehicles and ambulances converged on the makeshift tent city in the center of Manama that was beginning to resemble a smaller version of Tahrir Square in Cairo, where Egyptian protesters overthrew their president.

President Obama pressed Bahrain's crown prince to ease the Persian Gulf state's brutal crackdown on its political opposition and urged him to "hold accountable" those responsible for human-rights abuses against unarmed demonstrators. In an Oval Office meeting Tuesday with Salman bin Hamad Khalifa, Obama welcomed the kingdom's decision to lift emergency security measures that were imposed to quell the protests, as well as its announcement that the government and its opponents would begin talks on political reform, the White House said in a statement.

President Obama pressed Bahrain's crown prince to ease the Persian Gulf state's brutal crackdown on its political opposition and urged him to "hold accountable" those responsible for human-rights abuses against unarmed demonstrators. In an Oval Office meeting Tuesday with Salman bin Hamad Khalifa, Obama welcomed the kingdom's decision to lift emergency security measures that were imposed to quell the protests, as well as its announcement that the government and its opponents would begin talks on political reform, the White House said in a statement.

Bahrain backed down Friday from its threat to disband the country's main opposition party after unusually strong criticism from the United States that the strategic Persian Gulf nation was closing the door to promised political reforms. One day after the Bahraini Justice Ministry said it would shut down two Shiite Muslim political parties, including the moderate Wefaq, the state-run news agency said the government would not act until it had finished investigations of the two groups.

Despite its eagerness to show support for protesters across the Middle East, the Obama administration has lined up squarely with the royal family of Bahrain as tens of thousands march in the streets demanding reform in the strategic kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. While Bahraini demonstrators continue to denounce the monarchy's reform offers as a sham, U.S. officials are praising the king of the Persian Gulf island nation and have taken a lead role in pushing for negotiations aimed at satisfying Bahrain's marginalized Shiite Muslim majority.

— Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government demonstrators blocking access to the financial district of Bahrain's capital on Sunday, as sectarian tension escalated in this tiny island kingdom. The clashes began early Sunday after protesters set up barricades across a main road into downtown Manama and turned away motorists headed for work. Dozens of policemen in riot gear forced the demonstrators back in a series of clashes over two hours, witnesses said.

Bahrain backed down Friday from its threat to disband the country's main opposition party after unusually strong criticism from the United States that the strategic Persian Gulf nation was closing the door to promised political reforms. One day after the Bahraini Justice Ministry said it would shut down two Shiite Muslim political parties, including the moderate Wefaq, the state-run news agency said the government would not act until it had finished investigations of the two groups.

A U.S.-flagged cargo ship contracted by the Pentagon to ferry military equipment fired on a motorboat while preparing to enter the Suez Canal on Monday night, U.S. Navy officials said. Egyptian officials said one Egyptian man was killed and two wounded in the incident. According to a statement issued by the commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet, the cargo ship used its radio and other measures to warn several small boats that had approached to turn away.

The latest secret agents in the war against terrorism have slipped into this Persian Gulf port armed with remarkable powers to detect and detain any enemy bent on imperiling U.S. ships or sailors. But unlike most of their colleagues, these undercover operatives are honking about their exploits. A yelping brood of U.S. Navy-trained sea lions has settled into these strategic waters, where an armada has massed in the tense U.S.-Iraq standoff that looks ever more likely to lead to war.

A burst of deadly violence against demonstrators in Bahrain has left the Obama administration again confronting the awkward task of trying to stabilize an ally besieged by growing opposition from its citizens. A tiny monarchy in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, and the fall of its government could scramble the strategic order in the Middle East, potentially weakening U.S. leverage and leaving Iran in a stronger position. In an acknowledgement of the kingdom's important role, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other officials Thursday urged Bahraini officials to halt the violence and to quickly adopt political reforms that could satisfy the protesters.

— Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government demonstrators blocking access to the financial district of Bahrain's capital on Sunday, as sectarian tension escalated in this tiny island kingdom. The clashes began early Sunday after protesters set up barricades across a main road into downtown Manama and turned away motorists headed for work. Dozens of policemen in riot gear forced the demonstrators back in a series of clashes over two hours, witnesses said.

Despite its eagerness to show support for protesters across the Middle East, the Obama administration has lined up squarely with the royal family of Bahrain as tens of thousands march in the streets demanding reform in the strategic kingdom that is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. While Bahraini demonstrators continue to denounce the monarchy's reform offers as a sham, U.S. officials are praising the king of the Persian Gulf island nation and have taken a lead role in pushing for negotiations aimed at satisfying Bahrain's marginalized Shiite Muslim majority.

A burst of deadly violence against demonstrators in Bahrain has left the Obama administration again confronting the awkward task of trying to stabilize an ally besieged by growing opposition from its citizens. A tiny monarchy in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain is home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, and the fall of its government could scramble the strategic order in the Middle East, potentially weakening U.S. leverage and leaving Iran in a stronger position. In an acknowledgement of the kingdom's important role, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and other officials Thursday urged Bahraini officials to halt the violence and to quickly adopt political reforms that could satisfy the protesters.

Security forces in tiny but strategic Bahrain launched a brutal assault early Thursday against at least 1,000 defiant anti-government protesters, including women and children, camped out in tents in the capital's Pearl Square. A barrage of tear gas canisters thundered across the square about 3 a.m. as dozens of police cars, armored security vehicles and ambulances converged on the makeshift tent city in the center of Manama that was beginning to resemble a smaller version of Tahrir Square in Cairo, where Egyptian protesters overthrew their president.

A U.S.-flagged cargo ship contracted by the Pentagon to ferry military equipment fired on a motorboat while preparing to enter the Suez Canal on Monday night, U.S. Navy officials said. Egyptian officials said one Egyptian man was killed and two wounded in the incident. According to a statement issued by the commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet, the cargo ship used its radio and other measures to warn several small boats that had approached to turn away.

The latest secret agents in the war against terrorism have slipped into this Persian Gulf port armed with remarkable powers to detect and detain any enemy bent on imperiling U.S. ships or sailors. But unlike most of their colleagues, these undercover operatives are honking about their exploits. A yelping brood of U.S. Navy-trained sea lions has settled into these strategic waters, where an armada has massed in the tense U.S.-Iraq standoff that looks ever more likely to lead to war.

Eleven U.S. Marines were injured Thursday in an explosion in a trash container aboard the amphibious assault ship Saipan in the northern Arabian Sea, the Navy said. None of the injuries was life-threatening, although one of the Marines was evacuated to an Army field hospital in Kuwait for treatment of a serious arm injury, the U.S. 5th Fleet said. Others were being treated aboard the ship.

Navy warships seized nearly 2,800 pounds of hashish from a small vessel in the northern Arabian Sea and detained the boat's 15 crew members, who were believed to be smuggling contraband for Al Qaeda, the military said Friday. The boat seized on New Year's Day was the fourth drug-smuggling vessel intercepted by Americans recently in or near the Persian Gulf believed to be funneling money to Osama bin Laden's terrorist network.