Kristof on Bahrain

He’s spent a lot of time there lately, and is suitably appalled by the new developments. Here’s one alarming anecdote told to Kristof by his NY Times colleague Michael Slackman:

“My New York Times colleague Michael Slackman was caught by Bahrain security forces a few weeks ago. He said that they pointed shotguns at him and that he was afraid they were about to shoot when he pulled out his passport and shouted that he was an American journalist. Then, he says, the mood changed abruptly and the leader of the group came over and took Mr. Slackman’s hand, saying warmly: ‘Don’t worry! We love Americans!’ ‘We’re not after you. We’re after Shia,’ the policeman added. Mr. Slackman recalls: ‘It sounded like they were hunting rats.’”