US embassy cable - 04MANAMA732

UNCLAS MANAMA 000732 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA/PPD MQUINN, APENDLETON; NEA/ARP CKANESHIRO; NEA/PI 
AROMANOWSKI AND CBOURGEOIS, NEA/DRL, NEA/PHD, ECA/A/L 
OKERR, R 
SECDEF FOR OASD/PA 
USCINCCENT FOR PAO AND POLAD 
LONDON FOR HAMBLEY AND NKHOURY 
CAIRO FOR STEVE BONDY 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OIIP, KPAO, KMPI, KDEM, KWMN, PHUM, BA 
SUBJECT: SPOT REPORT: BAHRAINI WOMEN ON ABU GHRAIB POWS 
 
REF:  STATE 55472 
 
1.  Bahraini women from all walks of life, including 
Sunni and Shia followers, have been sharing their 
thoughts and feelings about the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse 
with Emboffs and our Bahraini Foreign Service Nationals. 
Although the region's reaction has already been heavily 
reported in the press, given the importance of Arab women 
to the reform process and MEPI's goals for the Women's 
Empowerment Pillar (reftel, para 23), post is sharing 
some of their reactions. 
 
2.  The wife of a Shura Council Member told a PAS FSN 
(after telling her to quit working for the U.S. Embassy 
over the issue) that she could not believe that American 
women were involved in the scandal; she feels betrayed by 
American women.  She added, "I was a huge supporter of 
Bush freeing the Iraqis from Saddam.  But I've changed my 
mind completely and I am truly disappointed and disgusted 
with the U.S. Administration.  I never thought that the 
U.S. would exhibit this much violence and hatred.  It 
will take the Arabs generations to get over this 
betrayal."  Fearing for her children and grandchildren, 
she added, "If this is the way that the U.S. wants to 
preach democracy and human rights, then our future will 
only hold further disasters and violence and there can 
never be real security in the Gulf." 
 
3.  A U.S.-educated Bahraini photographer told the PAO 
that she was disgusted when she saw the photos depicting 
POW abuse specifically because of the participation of 
American women in the acts.  "You should tell your 
military to pull all American female soldiers out of 
Iraq.  The next time an American woman is captured in 
Iraq, they will do despicable things to her.  And I won't 
blame them after what they have done to us Arabs." 
(Comment:  PAO was taken aback by her bitterness since 
she is a graduate of the Department of Defense Dependents 
School in Bahrain and went to college in the U.S.  Many 
of her childhood friends and classmates were Navy 
dependents with whom she is still in touch.) 
 
4.  Many of our female contacts are holding senior U.S. 
government officials personally responsible.  A U.S.- 
educated mother decried America's "disrespect for Arab 
and Islamic customs" and expressed real disappointment in 
Secretary Rumsfeld's surprise visit to Abu Ghraib.  "It 
 
SIPDIS 
is disgusting what these people have done when they have 
told us that they are there to free Iraqis and protect 
them from human rights abuses under the Saddam regime." 
A young stay-at-home mom told our POLFSN, "It was really 
offensive to see naked Arab men on TV being treated like 
animals, the means of torture were unnecessary and 
inhumane.  I felt insulted, angry, and very sad. The 
American Government is pushing its luck." 
 
5.  A conservative, veiled Bahraini woman of Palestinian 
descent told the Educational Advisor that abuse of all 
POWs is wrong no matter where it takes place.  She said, 
"I would be equally horrified if the same torture and 
abuse were happening to an American prisoner because this 
is against human rights.  It is not a matter of who is to 
doing what to who, as much as the injustice from a human 
rights perspective." 
 
6.  Our RELO FSN, who comes from a more traditional 
sector of Bahraini society, reports that virtually all 
women in her majority-Shia lower income village are now 
calling for the U.S. to leave Iraq unconditionally due to 
the Abu Ghraib POW abuse.  These women are uneducated and 
lead simple lives, but they follow the news in Iraq. 
During a recent gathering in the home of a relative, the 
topic of conversation turned to Abu Ghraib.  One 
community leader summed it up for all of the women, "We 
did support U.S. goals to remove Saddam.  We thought it 
would be a good thing.  We were wrong." 
 
NEUMANN