United Arab Emirates

From dKosopedia

1 Background
2 US Military Bases
3 Links with Terrorists
4 Issues
5 Repression
6 External Links

Background

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a country of 2.5 million people in the Middle East, located on the southern coast of the Persian Gulf and adjacent to Saudi Arabia and Oman. The UAE is actually a confederation of seven small kingdoms, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A classic rentier state the country depends on revenues from Oil exports and is a member of OPEC.

The UAE has an appalling record on human rights, and it has been cited as both a destination and transshipment point for human trafficking. (Source: Bush fawns over the U.A.E.).

US Military Bases

The U.S. Military has several bases in the UAE. Two of the most important are Al Dhafra air base and Jebel Ali port. Al Dhafra supports fighters and aerial refueling aircraft, in addition to occassional U-2 and Global Hawk reconnaisance flights. Meanwhile, the Navy makes about 200 calls a year at Jebel Ali port.

Links with Terrorists

Like Saudi Arabia, the UAE has a record of supporting terrorists, including Al-Qaeda. Here are some examples:

The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan. (The other two were Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.)
According to George Tenet, the former Director of the CIA, members of the UAE royal family visited Osama Bin Laden in February 1999 (before 9/11), and their presence deterred an American attack on Bin Laden's compound.
Two of the 9/11 hijackers were citizens of the UAE.
According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.
After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.
The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Libya.
According to the CIA, the UAE is a drug transshipment point for traffickers given its proximity to Southwest Asian drug producing countries.
In May or June of 2002, Al-Qaeda wrote a letter to UAE officials, claiming "You are well aware that we have infiltrated your security, censorship and monetary agencies ..."

Issues

On March 2, 2006, Dubai International Capital LLC announced that it plans to buy Doncasters Group Ltd., a British company with plants in Georgia and Connecticut that make precision parts used in engines for military aircraft and tanks. This time the CFIUS is conducting a full 45-day review.
Dubai Ports World, a UAE state-owned company, made an offer to run some of the terminals in the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia. On February 20, 2006, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), chaired by Treasury Secretary Snow, approved the sale after a cursory 30-day review. However, a bi-partisan group of seven members of Congress wrote to the Secretary demanding a full 45-day review to determine whether this sale would adversely effect national security. The next day, Bush said that he would veto any legislation to block the sale. On January 24th, DP World announced that one of its senior executives, Dave Sanborn, has been nominated by US President George W. Bush to serve as Maritime Administrator a key transportation appointment reporting directly to Norman Mineta the United States Secretary of Transportation.

Repression

Ameircan national Prof. Claudia Kiburz was fired from Zayed University, a women's institution in Dubai after she distributed copies of the now infamous Danish cartoons as part of a class discussion. The chancellor of Zayed University and UAE Education Minister, Sheik Hahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, is responsible for the decision. 7 Days, a UAE magazine, reported that Zayed University will consider imposing sensitivity training sessions for foreign professors. Source: Katherine Zoepf. "U.S. Professor Is Fired Over Cartoons by University in United Arab Emirates." Chronicle of Higher Education. February 24, 2006. The UAE doesn't need sensitivity training for foreign academics. the people of the UAE needs liberating from their medievalism.

Ameircan national Prof. Claudia Kiburz was fired from Zayed University, a women's institution in Dubai after she shared copies of the now infamous Danish cartoons as part of a class discussion initiated by the students. The students then wrote problem/ solution essays concerning the issue. The chancellor of Zayed University and UAE Education Minister, Sheik Hahyan bin Mubarak Al-Nahyan, is responsible for the decision. 7 Days, a UAE magazine, reported that Zayed University will consider imposing sensitivity training sessions for foreign professors. Source: Katherine Zoepf. "U.S. Professor Is Fired Over Cartoons by University in United Arab Emirates." Chronicle of Higher Education. February 24, 2006. The UAE doesn't need sensitivity training for foreign academics. the people of the UAE needs liberating from their medievalism.