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Defended the government's crackdown. >> i have explained that the force used was really proportional, we had to use it, because it was necessary. the process started to destruct our national economy and scaring the people. >> that's the explanation from the bahraini government. nick, when you listen to the special on envoy saying the response was proportional, saying they were disrupting and not pieeacefully protesting, that's at odds with your reporting? >> reporter: it is. the hours immediately after the crackdown, we talked to some of the people that they say they were sleeping. they weren'...

A new tweet from "the new york times." bahrain's family has started a campaign to have me fired. he is cracking down on the prodemocracy protests. he told us it involves centuries old tensions from shiites and sunni muslims. >> reporter: you have a sunni royal family that is presiding very uneasily over a largely shiite population. so from the royal family's perspective, democracy is profoundly unpalatable. a texas congressman says new information the killing of a u.s. drug agent in mexico shows it was a sanctioned hit by a drug cartel. michelle backman was asked if she believes that preside...

There is no doubt for the king that he knows he has a lot more military muscle to back up his own security forces if the problems get that big, if he needs it, if that's the direction they go in, john. >> nic robertson, live for us in a very fragile manama, bahrain. let's discuss this with our national security council, fran townsend. number one, bahrain, has a vital usair u.s. area. i don't know if we have ever had a president go to bahrain but this one is important, yet the administration is furious at the crackdown. >> you can't underscore what a press miss this is. the significance of the ...

>> that's the secretary of state talking to you in bahrain. yet, we are having this conversation six months or a year ago, we would think bahrain was taking more steps, more liberal, more moderate, more open but as is the case in many areas if we could go through the countries in the gulf, from kuwait and the larger ones, down the coast, one step forward is often followed by two steps back. >> i am not defending their current conduct. in fairness, we ought to put in context in bahrain, like many countries, including kuwait, there is a large opposition in the parliament, some which is extremist...

Looking for change. you have to understand the government of bahrain and the allies in the region are -- >> you say fear based on history. when you look at that map and you know how important and you see the intelligence when you are in the bush administration. you know how important that natal base is to protecting oil shipments and to keeping an eye. there are a lot of u.s. intelligence assets along the gulf that those governments don't like to talk about. we are watching what iran and others are doing. the united states reacted difrm. does the regime in bahrain get more slack because of tha...