"From my perspective that has not been the principal focus of what
happened in Egypt or what happened in Bahrain or any of these other
countries," Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff,
said.
Mullen's assessment, said to reflect that of the military and the
administration, was issued in a briefing on Feb. 21 during his visit to
Qatar, Middle East Newsline reported. The admiral has been touring the Gulf and Middle East amid
unprecedented unrest that has ousted at least two Arab presidents.
Officials said the U.S. assessment, formed as early as 2006, differed
from that of the pro-Western Bahraini regime, which presides over a Shi'ite
majority, as well as that of neighboring Saudi Arabia. They said the
administration, including the military and Defense Department, concluded
that the wave of unrest throughout the Middle East took Iran by surprise.
"Those are by and large internal issues, as opposed to issues fomented
by some external forces," Mullen said. "There's always concerns in
this region with Iran and certainly the U.S. has them as well as all the
regional players."
Officials said Washington played a major role in preventing a war
between Bahrain's military and the Shi'ite opposition. They said senior
administration officials, including President Barack Obama, Defense
Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, were on the
phone to Bahraini leaders to help end military deployment in Manama, which
included the use of U.S.-origin combat platforms.
The administration also consulted with Saudi Arabia, regarded as the
leading ally of Bahrain. Officials acknowledged reports that the Saudi
military sent officers and equipment in an effort to help quell the Shi'ite
revolt.
"Everybody in the region is watching what’s happening in Bahrain very
closely," Mullen, who did not confirm the reports of Saudi intervention,
said.
On Feb. 22, calm was restored in most of Bahrain in wake of more than a
week of protests, in which seven people were killed. Officials said the
unrest did not significantly hamper operations of the U.S. Navy's Fifth
Fleet, with headquarters in Bahrain.
In a briefing, Mullen credited Bahraini Crown Prince Salman Bin Issa Al
Khalifa with defusing the crisis in the GCC kingdom. Salman, educated in the
United States, was said to have been on the phone with the administration
for the last week.
"He's [Salman] taken some significant positive steps, from a leadership
standpoint," Mullen said. "What struck me was the violence went away almost
immediately. I think it's reassured all of us."
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