Bahrain | First One Through

In the excitement stemming from the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain forging a path towards peace with Israel, people have speculated which Arab countries would be next. Sudan has been mentioned and the media has speculated that the United States might remove the country from states sponsoring terrorism to help make such normalization happen.

This is all a terrible idea. Sudan needs Israel, not the reverse.

Geography. The UAE and Bahrain both sit opposite the Persian Gulf from Israel’s nemesis, Iran. The proximity to that country may prove vital in dealing with such leading state sponsor of terrorism which has called for Israel’s destruction. Conversely, Sudan is over one thousand miles in the opposite direction.

Military. Both the UAE and Bahrain have over 5,000 U.S. military personnel stationed in the countries. Neighboring Kuwait and Qatar have a combined 25,000 U.S. military personnel. Coordinating forces against Iran with established U.S. military bases is an obvious advantage in stabilizing the region. Sudan has no such U.S. military presence.

Wealth. The UAE and Bahrain are very wealthy countries, with the GDP per capita of $43,000 (slightly ahead of Israel at $42,000) and $24,000, respectively. This compares to a Sudanese GDP per capita of roughly $977. The investment and trade possibilities with the Gulf states are significant while Sudan will be seeking aid from Israel, not trade with Israel.

Culture. The UAE and Bahrain are far from beacons of democracy with liberal policies, however, they are light years ahead of Sudan. Consider that each gulf kingdom still has the death penalty which Bahrain uses for premeditated murder and treason, and the UAE uses for rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery. Meanwhile Sudan kills people for homosexuality, prostitution and apostasy (converting from Islam) – “offenses” which harm no one.

Since its founding, Sudan has been through a series of civil wars, genocides and crimes against humanity. In total, over 2 million people have been killed in Sudan during some of the most heinous actions since World War II. The country remains an unstable haven for terrorists. Today’s U.S. policy vis-a-vis Sudan is “focused on ensuring that Sudan does not provide support to or a safe haven for international terrorists.“ If that’s the basis for U.S. policy, there is no reason for any party to go out of its way to advance normalization with this failed state.

Should Sudan want to join civilization, it can pay the hundreds of millions owed to the victims of terror, remove the penalty of capital punishment for apostasy and homosexuality, and end its systemic anti-Semitism by recognizing the Jewish State. If not, the U.S., Israel and the world will do quite well without this particular trading partner and vote at the United Nations.

Aftermath of violent clashes in Darfur on 30 December 2019

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The pandemic is reaching all corners of the world and the United Nations Secretary General is sounding the sirens about poor countries in Africa being at great risk of being overwhelmed by the virus. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said “We are as strong as the weakest health systems. Protecting the developing world is not a matter of charity or generosity but a question of enlightened self-interest.”

He might want to address the rich Persian Gulf monarchies more directly.

Most of the COVID-19 tests have been administered by large countries like India, and hard hit countries like the United States, Italy and Spain. The table below shows the top twenty countries where tests have been administered.

	Deaths/	Total	Tests/	Population
Country	1M pop	Tests	1M pop	Population
USA	278	12,253,346	37,045	330,769,370
Russia	19	7,147,014	48,977	145,927,122
Germany	97	3,147,771	37,584	83,752,125
Italy	529	3,041,366	50,294	60,472,166
Spain	593	3,037,840	64,977	46,752,654
UK	513	2,682,716	39,543	67,843,268
India	2	2,302,792	1,671	1,378,344,732
Turkey	50	1,650,135	19,591	84,227,597
UAE	23	1,600,923	162,108	9,875,638
France	433	1,384,633	21,218	65,256,433
Canada	155	1,312,613	34,816	37,701,865
Australia	4	1,062,034	41,708	25,463,408
S. Korea	5	753,211	14,693	51,263,999
Brazil	79	735,224	3,462	212,376,810
Iran	84	701,640	8,367	83,859,705
Belgium	784	696,840	60,157	11,583,602
Peru	85	661,132	20,086	32,914,644
Portugal	121	652,497	63,969	10,200,144
Poland	25	636,046	16,804	37,851,440
Saudi Arabia	9	601,954	17,324	34,745,848

One country stands out in the top 20 – the United Arab Emirates. A country with fewer than 10 million people has already had over 1.6 million tests performed. It amounts to a whopping 162,108 tests per million people, or over five times the average of 31,700 per million for the other top countries.

This rich Muslim kingdom is not an outlier. Nearby Bahrain has had 143,508 tests per 1 million people.

While the UAE does contribute to the World Health Organization (less than 1.0% of WHO’s budget), Bahrain gives virtually nothing – less than Sudan, Mali, Eritrea, Uganda, Lesotho and many other African countries.

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain

Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman have run 56,243, 17,324 and 11,985 tests per million people, respectively, a fraction of the rate of Bahrain, but at least each has contributed to the WHO.

Bahrain has one of the highest GDP per capita‘s in the world and has performed among the highest number of COVID-19 tests in the world, but barely gives a penny to the World Health Organization. Forget select vilification of the US for pulling funding of WHO because of the organization’s failures in handling the pandemic; how about a simple mention that it’s time for the rich oil kingdoms to contribute their share.