admirable things about bahrain. this is really an oasis of moderation and education and tolerance in the region. but i think in a sense that is what the rulen family didn t take into of. they took a huge increase in nationalization and they created a population that aspires to a real voice and not simply the kind of token consultation that they are granted. and so by gulf standards, bahrain does okay politically, but people don t want gulf standards, they want real democracy. we will follow it. nick, thank you for calling in. the kingdom of bahrain is a tiny island nation in the persian gulf and it plays a huge role in u.s. military strategy. for years, it served as the headquarters for the navy s fifth fleet. the reach of the fifth fleet is truly staggering, too. 2
we are hearing demands for a step by step reform but in effect to overthrow the ruling. the police seemed to have backed off for now. i think the regime was shaken by what has happened but the police backed off but nobody knows how long that will be for and protesters have turned a square in the city and similar to tahrir square they have turned it into. reporter: nick, you ve been there and you ve been there before. i ve even been there a number of times before during, after the various wars. this is a huge u.s. ally. this is where the navy s fifth fleet is based and when you stay there, when you eat there, when you walk the streets, you feel like you re in a u.s. city. so what do you think is going on here? because it s very different. life is very different here versus cairo. reporter: that s right. i mean, that is one of the most
the wall street swindler. in a new interview, madoff says banks just chose to look the other way. in bahrain this hour, one of the arab nation dealing with protests and surging anger among its citizens and a critical u.s. ally in the region. the protests had been peaceful during the week until the government launched a crackdown. two protesters have been killed and today the government is vowing justice. new york columnist nick christoff is on the phone with us. what are you seeing? reporter: it began with people with modest steps towards reform. people were hugely antagonized the way the government backed down on protesters, firing tear gas, rubber bullets, and, in some cases, shotgun pellets at them. the result is that increasingly,