President Joe Biden designated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a “major defense partner” of the United States on September 23, a decision that was announced by UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ). The announcement was made after his first visit to the White House. I have never visited for an Emirati president.
The UAE will join India as the only two countries with this title, which the White House said will enable “unprecedented cooperation” in pursuit of “regional stability” across the Middle East, East Africa and the Indian Ocean region. said.
In a Middle East on the brink of all-out war, forging ties with Gulf states touted as calm and assertive seems like a natural pursuit. However, the Emirates’ recent performance in the Middle East and Africa shows that the UAE does not quite fit the bill.
While the MbZ government has been praised for its support for a number of US-backed coalitions and its decent reputation compared with some neighboring countries, the MbZ government has faced a number of aggressive and destabilizing attacks due to protracted civil wars in Libya and Yemen. They have pursued their own interests through activities that change the world. destabilized the Horn of Africa (violating both U.S. and international law in the process) and fostered closer political and economic ties with Russia.
“The UAE is actively seeking economic foothold.” [across] both in Africa and East Asia. …They are really everywhere, trying to achieve their interests not only through economic national strategies but also through military means,” said doctoral candidate at the University of Washington and former lecturer at the National University of Sudan. Yasir Zaidan says.
But most frightening is the UAE’s “secret” support for the Sudanese Rapid Support Force (RSF) in its brutal 18-month civil war against the military government, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). The evidence of war crimes, extermination of civilians, and mass sexual violence during the first six months of the war was blatant enough to prompt formal condemnation from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as further accusations against humanity against parts of the RSF. Accusations of criminality and ethnic cleansing were also added. .
Last week, the UAE and the US reaffirmed their outward position that there is “no military solution” to the war in Sudan. The UAE continues to deny taking sides in the war, despite mounting accusations and evidence to the contrary. In January, the United Nations reported “credible” evidence that the UAE was sending weapons to the Royal Air Force through northern Chad “several times a week”, an extension of the recently extended arms embargo on Sudan’s Darfur region. This is a blatant violation.
In August 2023, the Wall Street Journal reported on an incident in which the UAE attempted to send military and financial aid to Sudan under the guise of humanitarian aid. Abu Dhabi also serves as a business, financial and logistics haven for RSF, with Emirati investors recently closing a $6 billion deal to strengthen Sudan’s Red Sea gold export port. It was concluded.
In the eyes of Dr. Anel Sherein, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute, the US-UAE agreement is an opportunity for a middle power to gain geopolitical power from the world’s largest hegemons (not just the US, but also China and Russia in the case of the Emirates). We believe that this shows that there is a growing tendency to successfully extract profits. — to maintain and build influence.
“This trend will become more and more pronounced, and we will continue to be willing to be guided by our noses and continue to give other powers what they want, and what exactly we will offer in return. ?It’s not clear what the US gained from this, but given that the UAE has not behaved in the way the US would like to see as a close partner.” It seems very inappropriate to me,” Sherine said.
One thing is clear: the UAE has its own bold set of policy priorities across the Middle East and Africa. The apparent “secrecy” about Sudan and other controversial conflicts, and the UAE’s feeble attempts to deny it, could create an awkward situation for the US given its new close ties with Abu Dhabi. be.
Already overstretched in other parts of the Middle East, the United States risks becoming even bloodier with this new “major partner” in the myriad violent conflicts, humanitarian crises, and diplomatic divisions across the region. is affected. Biden and his successor must recognize that the risks of succumbing to Chinese and Russian influence in the Gulf pale in comparison to the risks associated with ties to Abu Dhabi and its controversial foreign policy platform. Must be.
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