Thousands Attend Bahrain Funerals

Bahrain’s turmoil continued Friday, as thousands of people turned out for the funerals of protesters killed during anti-government demonstrations. The New York Times has a good rundown of what’s at stake for the United States: Bahrain is another strategic ally, housing the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet. Its proximity to Saudi Arabia, another Sunni kingdom, also complicates things: Bahrain’s conflict is less between pro- and anti-democracy forces, as was Egypt’s, as it is between the ruling Sunni class and the Shiite majority. (Eastern Saudi Arabia, where much of its oil comes from, has a large Shiite minority.) Iran’s Shiite government is closely watching the situation, although Bahrain’s Shiite political figures deny want a Islamic theocracy similar to Iran’s.