"But several analysts warn that even if Prince Salman is sincere, he is only one member of a family that includes hard-liners like his uncle, Prince Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, the long-serving prime minister. With his mild manner and fluent English, Prince Salman may be merely the monarchy’s friendly face, skeptical analysts say. The prince is on “a world tour to convince people that Bahrain is turning over a new leaf when in fact the hard-liners are conducting business-as-usual at home,” said Leslie Campbell, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Democratic Institute, which is active in Bahrain.
State Department officials are alarmed that in recent weeks Bahrain’s state-owned media mounted a virulent anti-American campaign against the embassy, accusing it of colluding with Shiite groups. An American diplomat involved in human rights issues recently left Bahrain after receiving threats, including from a blogger, who referred to the diplomat’s wife as being Jewish. Despite this, Mr. Campbell supports the outreach to the prince, saying that it makes sense to strengthen the hand of someone “who is at least by inclination moderate and fair-minded.”"
