Overview

According to the CIA World Factbook, the United Arab Emirates may have formalized its western and southwestern border with Saudi Arabia and its eastern border with Oman, but the arrangement has not been published publicly.  (2005)  But other, less easily defined borders shape the UAE.  Not only does the U.S. maintain close political ties with the nation, but economic connectivity between the UAE and Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, China, Germany, the UK, France, and the U.S. remains strong.  A recent commenter, Anne, remarked on the “increasingly borderless world”; this is a term particularly significant to the nation of 2.5 million people that is slightly smaller than Maine: of those 2.5 million, about 1.6 million are non-nationals.

Oil and gas reserves remain the UAE’s strength; these industries have led to a small 2.4% unemployment rate and a standard of living very similar to Western nations’.  Per capita GDP is about $29,100 U.S. dollars.  The UAE has managed its scarcity of other resources rather well, including desalination plants to offset the limited freshwater supply in this mostly-desert nation.  Many people may be familiar with the UAE’s land reclamation projects; Dubai, one of the seven territories that constitute the UAE, has decided to offset its own limited oil and gas reserves (in comparison with other territories of the UAE) by building offshore resorts:


These projects are slated to be completed by 2008.  The imarah of Dubayy (Dubai) is about the size of Rhode Island.

The UAE is not a democratic society.  The Federal Supreme Council (FSC) is composed of the rulers of the seven emirates; they elect the president and vice president of the UAE; the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister and the judges of the Union Supreme Court.  The legislative branch of the UAE, Majlis al-Ittihad al-Watani, is composed of 40 seats; members are appointed by the rulers of the seven emirates, although indirect elections have been announced for 2006 to fill half of those seats.  The Majlis al-Ittahad al-Watani only reviews legislation without the power to change it or veto it.  There are no political parties within the UAE.

Cell phone usage is growing within the UAE, as is Internet access.  But access to the Internet is filtered in one of the world’s largest, most comprehensive filtering regimes:

The sole ISP, Etisalat, is owned by the state, which makes filtering a substantially easier proposition than if many private ISPs served the state’s citizens. These protective measures, carried out through filtering processes and other forms of enforcement, are geared toward protecting political, moral, and religious values of the UAE and have considerable popular support. According to one survey, more than half of UAE’s citizens agree that Internet censorship is an effective measure to protect family members from objectionable content.

The UAE uses the SmartFilter filtering software to block nearly all pornography, gambling, religious conversion, and illegal drugs sites tested. The state also blocks access to all sites in the Israeli top-level domain. ONI’s testing of the UAE filtering regime also found blocking of sites on the Bahai faith, Middle East-oriented gay and lesbian issues, and English-language (though not Arabic-language) dating sites. While our results did not indicate that UAE uses its filtering system to block political sites, or news and media sources, we conclude that the state’s broad content controls unintentionally block information unrelated to UAE’s stated goals.

[http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/uae/]

The UAE is primarily a Muslim nation (96%), with about only 16% Shi’a.  About 4% of the populace follow other religions.

Recently, 26 men arrested at a “gay wedding” have been sentenced to five years in prison each, following earlier reports that the men would undergo homone treatments to “cure” them of homosexuality.

U.S. - UAE Relations

The U.S. State department summarizes U.S.-UAE relations as being quite cooperative:

It is a leading partner in the campaign against terrorism, providing assistance in the military, diplomatic, and financial arenas since September 11, 2001. The U.A.E. military currently provides humanitarian assistance to Iraq….

The United States has enjoyed friendly relations with the U.A.E. since 1971. Private commercial ties, especially in petroleum, have developed into friendly government-to-government ties which include security assistance. The breadth, depth, and quality of U.S.-U.A.E. relations increased dramatically as a result of the U.S.-led coalition’s campaign to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. In 2002, the U.S. and the U.A.E. launched a strategic partnership dialogue covering virtually every aspect of the relationship. The U.A.E. has been a key partner in the war on terror after September 11, 2001. The United States was the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the U.A.E. and has had an ambassador resident in the U.A.E. since 1974.

Japan remains the largest importer of UAE oil, with 29% of its Persian Gulf imports coming from the UAE; in comparison, less than 1% of U.S. oil imports from the Persian Gulf come from the UAE (as of 2003)

As of today, the U.S. Department of State has no travel advisory warnings for Americans visiting the UAE, beyond the normal precautions for nations in the area — “The Department of State remains concerned about the possibility of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world.”  However, Australian officials put the warning in starker terms: “We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in the United Arab Emirates because of the high threat of terrorist attack. We continue to receive reports that terrorists are planning attacks against Western interests in the United Arab Emirates.”

Presumably, Secretary of State Rice will be protected from such attacks.  She is visiting the UAE to meet with Arab leaders — the Gulf Cooperation Council —  to discuss funding of Palestinians v. funding of Hamas and the threat of Iran in the region.  Incidentally, the UAE has a long-standing and heated dispute with Iran over three islands in the Strait of Hormuz (reminiscent of the dispute between China and Japan over the Diaoyu (or Senkaku) islands in the East China Sea): Lesser and Greater Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island:

Claimed by the UAE, via the UN, since 1980, the islands were later seized in 1992 by Iran.  A May 2004 article in the Persian Journal outlines Iran’s historical claims by invoking the Persian Empire:

ABU MUSA Island was administrated by Iranian like other islands of Pars Sea and was a part of Iranian territory. Between the years 1165-1151 AH Pars Sea and Abu Musa were under the dominance of Elomates. In parthians era and in the time of Mehrdad the first (138-171 BC), Abu Musa was the dominance of this Dynasty.This island was under Kerman Saljoughian rule till 538 AH and was managed by local government of Bani Ghasia. In the reign of Shah Abbas Safavid, Portuguese conquered Abu Musa Island.In 1147 AH Karim Khan Zand rule, over the ports and islands of the Persian Gulf. Agha Mohammad Khan Ghajar ruled over these areas as well.

[Morteza Aminmansour, Persian Journal]

The article also outlines the importance of the islands:

All of Iran’s oil tanker traffic must pass through this area, making the security of the area very important. Any blockade of this strategic Strait would restrict supplies to consumers in Asia, Europe and US, Japan which gets more than 70% of its oil from the Persian Gulf, and the US, which takes 1.6 million bpd from Middle East states, would be the most sensitive to a blockade. Control of Abu Musa also gives extra protection to BANDAR ABBAS, an Iranian port important for its oil industry and military base. The Tubs are seventeen miles southwest of Iran’s Qeshm Island and forty-six miles NW of the nearest point on the UAE coastline. Greater Tunb is roughly 2.5 miles diameter and at the time a population of approximately 150 People. Lesser Tunb is eight miles to the southwest; Abu Musa is approximately three square miles, with an estimated 800 inhabitants. [ibid.]

And, it refutes the UAE claim on the islands:

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) claims on the Iranian Persian Gulf islands of greater Tunb, lesser Tunb, and Abu Musa are illegal and run counter to international law. The Island was officially returned to Iran after 68 years of legal battle by Iran. The Arab Sheikhs are not knowledgeable enough and should know that Abu Musa and other islands (lesser Tunb and greater Tunb) are inseparable parts of Iranian territory. [ibid.]

A summary on UAE Prism.com contemplates the UAE’s difficulty in responding to the Iranian takeover of the islands, which limits the UAE response to diplomatic channels:

After the UAE brought the issue to the GCC in September of 1992, Iran declared full sovereignty over the three islands. 

Neither the UAE or the GCC has contemplated an attack on Abu Musa because Iranian fortification would make it too difficult to invade or to hold the island. 

Not only would an invasion fail, but Iran could respond by closing the Strait of Hormuz to all commerce, including the oil trade. In addition, the UAE does not want to disrupt its billion-dollar annual export trade with Iran….

The islands dispute has also caused serious friction within the UAE. Abu Dhabi has been careful to maintain some contact with Iran because of the large number of Iranian expatriates in the UAE and because of Iran’s proximity. 

Ras al-Khaimah and Sharjah advocate tough measures against Iran. Dubai, on the other hand, believes that the conflict is unnecessary, and does not want anything to threaten its profitable trade and close cultural links with Tehran. 

Iran is currently Dubai’s largest re-export market, accounting for 20-30% of Dubai’s trade and providing access to markets in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

[UAE Prism.com]

Rice’s visit may follow several channels, some not widely publicized.  Also, it may be supposed that Dubai’s real estate efforts (land-reclamation island resorts] would be threatened by any potential military conflict between Iran and the U.S.  Indeed, keeping oil flowing during such a conflict would require close cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and the UAE, including Dubai, which is perhaps why the Bush Administration is defending the sale of six U.S. seaports to a state-owned UAE company, Dubai Ports World.  Even former Democratic President Jimmy Carter is defending the deal —

“My presumption is, and my belief is, that the president and his secretary of state and the Defense Department and others have adequately cleared the Dubai government organization to manage these ports,” Carter told CNN. “I don’t think there’s any particular threat to our security.” [New Mexican]

— but probably for the wrong reasons, or in his continuing and broad zeal for global interconnectivity, which might be for the right reasons.  The GWB Admin., however, may be working to shore up support with the UAE in anticipation of a military confrontation with Iran, which doubters of the deal — ranging from New York Gov. George Pataki and Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich to major Democratic opposition in the Congress — may be overlooking.

In a recent letter to Treasury Secretary John Snow, seven U.S. Senators and Representatives outlined their concern over the deal:

Dubai, which owns and controls the acquiring company in this case, has been named as a key transfer point for shipments of nuclear components that were shipped to Iran, North Korea, and Libya, which were sold by Pakistan’s nuclear scientist A.Q.Khan.  In addition, the UAE was one of only 3 countries (including Pakistan and Saudi Arabia) that recognized the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

According to the Congressional Research Service, many U.S. officials believed that al Quaeda activists have spent time in the UAE.  In fact, two of the 9/11 hijackers were UAE nationals (Fayez Banihammad and Marwan al-Shehhi), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation claimed the money used for the attacks was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers primarily through the UAE’s banking system.  Furthermore, after the 9/11 attacks, your department complained of a lack of cooperation by the UAE and other Arab countries as the U.S. was trying to track down Osama bin Laden’s bank accounts.

[Senators Charles E. Schumer, Frank R. Lautenberg, Christopher J. Dodd, Tom A. Coburn, and Representatives Christopher Shays, Mark Foley, Vito Fossella.  Pdf available via FoxNews.]

These are serious charges and go beyond expressing concern over the takeover by Dubai Ports World; they target the UAE itself, as an exporter of terrorism, and may threaten U.S. relations with the UAE — business relations as well as regional security cooperation.  Two recent business ventures highlight the interconnectivity of the U.S. and UAE:

U.S. Company Plans Spaceport In United Arab Emirates
Virginia-based Space Adventures has announced plans to spend 265 (m) million dollars to build a spaceport in the United Arab Emirates.

[AP, link]


Hopkins to run foreign hospital
In its biggest overseas venture to date, Johns Hopkins Medicine next month will take over management of a hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

Hopkins announced Monday a 10-year deal to manage the 469-bed, publicly owned Tawam Hospital in Abu Dhabi. Though Hopkins has provided academic and clinical advice to overseas medical institutions, it has never before run a foreign hospital.

“Johns Hopkins has been waiting for just the right partner and the right opportunity before entering into the hospital management sector,” Steven J. Thompson, CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine International, said in a statement.

[Alan Zibel, Baltimore Business Journal]

However, the concern over port security is valid, considering the fact that inspections of containers entering the U.S. have been a major failing of the Department of Homeland Security.  Port security would remain in the hands of the Department, but those hands may not be up to the task.  This is significant and ought to be addressed by those Senators and Representative who worry about the port takeover, rather than a simplistic xenophobic fear of Arabic control (of previously UK-controlled ports): Dubai’s activity vis-a-vis the ports could be monitored if the Department of Homeland Security would clarify and refine its container-inspection procedures.

The UAE is a small nation strategically placed at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, with whom the U.S. has had largely cooperative relations.  The UAE has precious few resources besides oil and gas; and its largest  trade partners are stable, pro-democracy nations (Japan and South Korea particularly, plus the U.S., India, Germany, the UK; although, to be sure, the UAE also trades with China.)  Besides Dubai, the other emirates depend on their oil and gas trading partners; Dubai is focusing its economic trade on the creation of resorts and, it would seem, even a spaceport run by a Western company; and now, capital investments which might include 6 major ports in the U.S. represent Dubai’s efforts at greater connectivity with the U.S.  Furthermore, because of the location of the UAE, the U.S. must maintain healthy relations.  The UAE is no friend to Iran and depends on relations with the U.S. to offset Iran’s greater military strength, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz — particularly, to secure its access to the Strait for its oil exports.  The U.S., obviously, depends on the security of the Strait as well.  Given the recent sabre-rattling of Iran and Iran’s efforts to acquire strategic nuclear capabilities, the U.S. cannot afford to drive a wedge between the UAE and itself.

Lines are being drawn in the sand in the Persian Gulf, and the U.S. must decide who its friends in the Gulf are and continuously work for improved relations with those nations.  Greater, more extensive cooperation between the U.S. and the UAE would not only improve security in the region, but it would also open the door for other negotiations, such as improved human rights in the UAE (regarding Internet access and gay rights and womens’ rights, and including the recent announcement of limited indirect elections for the UAE legislature.) 


________

Update: Looks like the Kn@ppster agrees:

Think a bunch of UAE citizens, cashing paychecks which flow directly from Dubai Ports World’s operations in the US, might be a little less inclined to sympathy for a bunch of Islamist nutjobs whose operations threaten those paychecks?

Think the bureaurats in Dubai — already an economic powerhouse — might find it more sexy to play footsie with Washington than tag with Tehran?

Yeah, I think so to. As a matter of fact, if Bush can pull this one off, it will be the first real national security accomplishment of his administration