A photo released by the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain shows seven of nine U.S. warships in a flotilla, carrying 17,000 personnel, sailing in the Gulf May 22, 2007. Credit: Reuters/U.S. Fifth Fleet/HandoutU.S. Takes Cautious Line On Fifth Fleet's Base In Bahrain -- Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—Unrest in Bahrain is putting the future of a key U.S. ally in doubt, a microcosm of how the Middle East's roiling political landscape is challenging U.S. policy in the region.
A U.S. ally in a geographically strategic perch, Bahrain is positioned near the world's most important oil reserves, and its Sunni government has been seen as a reliable bulwark against nearby Shiite-led Iran. At the center of U.S. strategy there is the headquarters of the U.S. Fifth Fleet—a base that is home to 3,000 military personnel who oversee the 30 naval ships and some 30,000 sailors that patrol the Persian Gulf and Arabian and Red seas.
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