The meeting of the GCC today to support Bahraini repression and oppression was clear. The GCC (a tool created by the US) intended to prevent democracy from arriving to an Arab gulf country. I do believe that the Qatari government deliberately protected the Bahraini monarchy through its lousy coverage of the repression in Bahrain. I just remembered the last conversation I had with the Emir of Qatar back in July: I asked him for the reasons why political parties can't be formed in Qatar, and why societies dedicated to combating normalization between Qatar and Israel are not permitted in Qatar. I remember his words today (and now I know what he meant): he said that he can't. That political development and progress in Qatar can't be ahead of other political levels of developments in other Gulf countries. I asked why: and he said that they just can't be ahead, in political development. I guess that GCC countries disagree on many things but that they all agree on preventing democracy in their region. But: make no mistake about it. There is so much at stake--physically in terms of military and intelligence bases--to to allow for democracy in that part of the world. I think that the US was prepared to deploy troops to support the Bahraini monarchy.