The United States does not need Bahrain's oil, and the limited trade relationship between the two countries cannot be relied upon to put pressure on domestic political reform. What Washington has is more than oil or trade; it has the Fifth Fleet which is of strategic importance in the region.

A US-Bahraini joint statement said at the end of the U.S.-Bahrain Strategic Dialogue that the two sides "engaged in constructive dialogue on how best to advance human rights, including freedom of expression, and Bahrain's government shared its plan to advance societal and legal reforms."