The Last Word In Airport Is Port

Well, airbase, not airport,actually - as in Al Dhafra. And there's much more. Strategic partner is an understatement, if you read the record and history.

Al Dhafra Air Base in the United Arab Emirates is located about an hour outside of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron [formerly designated the 4413th Air Refueling Squadron (Provisional)] conducts in-flight refueling missions throughout Southwest Asia in support of Operation Southern Watch, a coalition force tasked to monitor United Nations Security Council resolutions restricting air and ground operations in Southern Iraq. The Air Force operates KC-10 refueling planes which are involved in sustaining US warplanes covering the southern no-flight zone over Iraq.

and then there are ports, too.

Intensive use has been made of commercial ports, including about 200 calls a year at the Jebel Ali port in the United Arab Emirates. Other important ports [Mina] in the UAE are Abu Dhabi, Al Fujayrah, Khawr Fakkan, Mina Khalid, Mina Rashid, Mina Saqr, and Mina Zayid. The Fujairah to Jebel Ali land link is the Navy’s logistics pipeline to the Gulf should the Strait of Hormuz be closed. Cargo unloaded at Al Fujairah, on the Gulf of Oman, can be subsequently transported via highway to destinations on the Arabian Gulf and hence bypass the need for transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States has enjoyed friendly relations with the UAE 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.-UAE relations increased dramatically as a result of the U.S.-led coalition's campaign to end the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait. The United States was the third country to establish formal diplomatic relations with the UAE and has had an ambassador resident in the UAE since 1974.

and this:

In Fujairah, a new $100 million naval base was out to tender by mid-1998, while studies were proceeding on a privately-backed ship repair yard at Dibba. As of January 1999 an announcement of a contract award was expected on the Fujairah naval base project.

and this, among others.

Jebel Ali has become a favorite port of Navy ships in the Gulf, and is the most frequented port outside of the United States. This port has become a familiar stop for carrier battle groups while deployed to the Arabian Gulf.

They are also an enemy of Iran in a sense:

After a quiet start on the international stage, the United Arab Emirates has taken an active role in Middle Eastern politics, both as a founding member of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) – the principal pan-national grouping in the region – and as a mediator in disputes including those between Israel and the Palestinians, Morocco and Algeria, Iran and Iraq, and Oman and Yemen. It was also one of the first Gulf states to establish diplomatic relations with China (PR) and the nations of the former USSR.

In August 1990, in common with other members of the Gulf Co-operation Council, the United Arab Emirates gave its firm backing to the US-led anti-Iraqi coalition. After the war, the United Arab Emirates enhanced its national security by participating in various GCC defence initiatives, as well as signing bilateral agreements with both the UK and the USA. The United Arab Emirates is essentially pro-Western but American strategy in the region has caused some difficulties for the government: most of the population were strongly opposed to the American-led assault on Iraq in 2003 and the United Arab Emirates provided cautious political backing (plus a support airbase in Abu Dhabi) for the operation.

Within the region, the United Arab Emirates has a long-standing territorial dispute with Iran over ownership of three small Gulf islands – Greater and Lesser Tunbs, and Abu Musa. These islands, presently occupied by Iran, are in a strategic position close to Gulf shipping lanes and sit over substantial oil and gas fields. That dispute has yet to be resolved, although several other lesser disputes with other Gulf states (principally Qatar) have been settled.

Opinion Journal has a piece up you might want to see.

Comments

[splashtc]

and we have friendly relations with pakistan..

[*flo*]

splashtc, no major Pakistan business operates on US soil in any form connected to US transportation, however many doctors, real estate investors and convenient store owners are from Pakistan. We need to hear more about the ports in Spain, Netherlands and Britian, ports where Dubia does conduct business...By this deal being completed without the knowledge of many members in Congress or the US public, yes, this raises a US Security concern, considering Bush allowed its sideshow of warrantless eavesdropping...how can a $6.5 billion US Port deal from a Arabic nation go unnoticed? DUH!!!

[ViVi]

Sorry for the double ping. I will correct it if you tell me how, or perhaps you can do it on your end.

BTW, excellent work and analysis on this issue. Glad you're exposing it for what it really is rather than sucumbing to the party line.

[Phoenix]

My favorite part of this whole thing is that there is actual dialogue going on with words such as 'Good Arabs', 'a helpful, friendly Muslim country'. This sure puts the lie to those who would paint all of Muslim and Arabian countries with the terrorists' bloody brush.