Bahrain may consider sending troops to support US operations to root out terrorism if asked, its leader, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Issa Al Khalifa, was quoted as saying in the Financial Times.
However, in the interview published by the paper Monday, Sheikh Hamad said no request had yet been made for him to contribute forces, and he did not consider it likely given the "technical" nature of the campaign.
"At the same time, you never know. If a request comes that the Bahrain defense force is needed to fill a gap in this campaign it will be studied, it will be considered, it will be looked at," he told the paper.
"But we will not go just for the name. We have to have a clear mandate to go (...) a reason that people believe in," said Sheikh Hamad.
Sheikh Hamed said the US-British bombing campaign against Afghanistan believed to harbor bin Laden was not directed against Islam but against "terrorists.”
"I support this campaign with all my heart because the only way to save those innocent people, those innocent children, is to get evil out of their country," he told the Financial Times.
In late September, Bahrain's government ordered the freezing of accounts of individuals and groups suspected of financing terrorist activities.
During the cabinet's weekly meeting, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa ordered the Bahrain Monetary Agency (the central bank) to "take all necessary measures, in compliance with international legitimacy, to freeze the money of any individual or organization linked to suspicious activities."
The move was "part of international efforts to crack down on financial support for terrorism," according to Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Mohammad Ibrahim Al Mutawa.
He said Bahrain, the Gulf's main banking center, was following in the footsteps of the United Arab Emirates, whose central bank had ordered the freezing of accounts and investments of 26 individuals and organizations suspected of financing terrorist activities – Albawaba.com
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