The recent normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates is cause for celebration in a region where the flow of bad news never seems to end. It’s also an occasion for caution, particularly for an autocrat-friendly administration that has already been played by a ruthless and reckless Saudi crown prince.
The UAE’s Mohammed bin Zayed (also known as MBZ) isn’t Mohammed bin Salman (MBS). But before Washington and the chattering class start providing unconditional support to another Arab authoritarian, the United States should be clear about what it wants out of the relationship and how it should use the leverage it has with the UAE to achieve those outcomes. Otherwise, we could be setting ourselves up for yet another Middle East leader to play the United States for a fool, undermining both our values and our interests.
The August peace deal between Israel and the UAE — two countries who were never at war — is as unique in the annals of peacemaking as the Emirati leader who signed it. At 59, the modernizing, secular-leaning MBZ is almost twice as old as MBS and definitely twice as smart. Not only did he get Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend annexation of the West Bank, but he also greased the skids for the sale of long-sought F-35 stealth fighters and positioned himself as Washington’s favorite Arab state.
MBZ has sought to turn the oil-and-gas-rich UAE into a regional powerhouse, expanding its influence in Libya, the Horn of Africa and southern Yemen while avoiding most of the mistakes made by his reckless and impulsive Saudi counterpart. Unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE has demonstrated military competence in support of U.S. military operations; besides Australia, it is the only other non-NATO country the U.S. military allows to fly close air support for American ground forces in Afghanistan. It has also provided access to UAE air and naval bases that the U.S. military highly values.
And now for the “but.” The UAE’s surveillance of its own population and the absence of basic freedoms, especially freedom of press and expression, have earned it a rating of “not free” from Freedom House. The UAE also has a terrible record in treating migrant workers; and Dubai has a bad reputation as source of international money laundering for corrupt and criminal elements.
The Emiratis play a dominant role in fueling the ongoing military conflict in Libya to oppose the U.S. and United Nations-backed government in Tripoli. Even though they have withdrawn their forces from southern Yemen, they continue to influence the situation there through proxies. And they have been cooperating closely with the Saudis to squeeze Qatar, another U.S. security partner in the Persian Gulf.
A second Trump administration cannot be expected to do anything other than continue its fawning over MBZ. A Biden administration, however, has a chance to push the reset button. Instead of falling into the same trap with MBS, it needs to keep a wary eye on the UAE. As long as the Trump administration treated MBS as if he had the United States over a barrel, he was willing to engage in risky behavior, knowing that the administration would look the other way and bend the rules to allow arms sales to the kingdom. In so doing, America became a witting accomplice to Saudi human rights atrocities in Yemen and the murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
A Biden administration’s engagement with the UAE should be tethered to two critical realities. First, the interests and values of the United States and the UAE differ in many important respects. Second, the UAE is not going to become a U.S. client state that will lead an all-Arab vanguard against Iran or pursue normalization with Israel at any price. Should the deal to sell the F-35s falter or Israel return to plans to annex the West Bank, MBZ will recalibrate his approach.
We know what MBZ wants from us: recognition of his self-styled role as the Gulf’s new kingpin, support for the UAE’s preferred policy outcomes in the region, and unlimited access to the U.S. arms market. The question is what we want from him — and how can Washington use its limited leverage to achieve its goals.
As long as the United States is selling sophisticated weapons to the UAE, it should not hesitate to apply maximum pressure on the UAE to curtail its human rights abuses, to push for an end to the Yemen conflict, to back off of its arm-twisting of Qatar, and to press the Saudis to begin a dialogue with Iran that could, in time, help ease the Saudi-Iran confrontation that undermines regional stability and security.
In recent years, we have watched in abject horror as the Trump administration gave the Saudis virtual carte blanche to repress at home, help create the world’s greatest humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen, and run roughshod over U.S. interests in the region. The United States cannot and should not allow the same behavior with the UAE. A new administration should take the chance to show that it is willing to stand up for U.S. interests and values.
74 thoughts on “Don’t let the United Arab Emirates play us the way Mohammed bin Salman did”
levofloxacin online buy levaquin 250mg generic
buy suhagra 50mg generic estradiol oral brand estrace 1mg
order lamotrigine 200mg for sale buy lamictal 200mg generic order tretinoin cream online
tadalis 10mg price generic avana 200mg voltaren 50mg cost
buy isotretinoin amoxicillin brand azithromycin 250mg cost
indocin 75mg sale order trimox 500mg without prescription order amoxicillin online cheap
buy tadalafil 5mg without prescription Real viagra pharmacy prescription viagra for sale
arimidex online viagra light switch plate viagra 50mg
acheter 20mg du cialis pharmacie en ligne viagra 200mg sildenafil pas cher
buy prednisone 20mg mexican pharmacy online cheap viagra sale
cialis generika tadalafil bestellen viagra 200mg kaufen generika
isotretinoin brand zithromax canada stromectol pill for humans
buy doxycycline 100mg pill doxycycline 100mg without prescription buy furosemide 40mg sale
ramipril cost order astelin generic buy azelastine sprayers
buy generic catapres 0.1mg antivert 25mg tablet order tiotropium bromide 9mcg without prescription
purchase buspar generic amiodarone 200mg for sale order ditropan 2.5mg without prescription
cost terazosin leflunomide usa purchase azulfidine without prescription
alendronate pills oral pepcid 20mg order famotidine 20mg sale
order benicar 10mg online generic olmesartan buy acetazolamide 250mg
order tacrolimus generic labetalol tablet brand ursodiol
buy isosorbide 20mg pill order telmisartan 80mg pills telmisartan online buy
buy zyban 150 mg online buy zyrtec 10mg for sale cheap quetiapine
molnunat medication naproxen 500mg pill prevacid canada
buy generic zoloft zoloft tablet cost viagra
salbutamol cost buy sildenafil for sale oral viagra 50mg
tadalafil 5mg fluoxetine 40mg brand buy viagra 100mg generic
cost tadalafil 10mg amantadine 100mg pills amantadine over the counter
buy revia 50mg pill generic albendazole 400mg aripiprazole cheap
dapsone brand adalat 30mg for sale perindopril medication
provera 5mg cheap buy periactin 4 mg without prescription cyproheptadine 4mg cost
order provigil 100mg pill canada online pharmacies ivermectin 50
purchase fluvoxamine online cheap buy generic glipizide 10mg glipizide price
order isotretinoin 40mg online accutane 10mg without prescription buy deltasone 10mg generic
piracetam 800 mg usa buy sildenafil pill viagra 200mg for sale
buy zithromax 250mg pills brand gabapentin 100mg order neurontin for sale
buy tadalafil online cheap tadalafil 5mg ca viagra medication
buy furosemide 40mg buy furosemide pills buy plaquenil generic
tadalafil 10mg generic clomipramine drug buy clomipramine 25mg pill
chloroquine 250mg sale cenforce 50mg uk olumiant ca
buy sporanox pills tindamax 500mg cheap tinidazole order
metformin oral glucophage sale us cialis
olanzapine 10mg generic order valsartan valsartan 80mg cost
norvasc 5mg sale amlodipine pill cialis order online
buy clozapine 100mg for sale oral decadron 0,0,5 mg order decadron pill
viagra 100mg generic order lisinopril 2.5mg generic lisinopril over the counter
order prilosec 10mg without prescription online casino slots no download poker online real money
linezolid 600 mg without prescription where can i play poker online real money slots
metoprolol 50mg canada lopressor online order levitra for sale
academic writing support cheap essay online hollywood casino online real money
buy levitra 20mg online buy methylprednisolone tablets methylprednisolone 16 mg otc
cheap research papers for sale sildenafil 50mg tablets sildenafil 50mg cost
aristocort 4mg without prescription triamcinolone without prescription order desloratadine 5mg without prescription
priligy online buy cytotec order order levothyroxine online
cialis 5mg ca viagra 100mg drug viagra us
orlistat 120mg without prescription acyclovir for sale online acyclovir 800mg canada
buy tadalafil online cialis next day delivery buy plavix pill
order zyloprim sale order zyloprim online cheap ezetimibe drug
methotrexate pills reglan 10mg over the counter buy reglan 10mg online cheap
motilium canada sumycin 250mg without prescription cyclobenzaprine 15mg brand
buy cozaar 50mg pills cozaar 25mg sale order topamax generic
buy baclofen 25mg for sale generic ketorolac buy toradol 10mg pills
generic sumatriptan 25mg sumatriptan tablet buy avodart generic
zantac 300mg over the counter buy generic meloxicam 15mg celebrex 100mg for sale
best slots to play online real money casino online online roulette free
real cialis pharmacy prescription brand ciprofloxacin 500mg buy ciprofloxacin 500mg
zocor 10mg usa valacyclovir 500mg price order proscar
metronidazole 400mg pills buy trimethoprim sale order bactrim 480mg generic
fluconazole 200mg generic fluconazole 200mg drug viagra uk
buy keflex 125mg generic buy erythromycin 500mg sale generic erythromycin
buy tadalafil 40mg pills oral tadalafil 20mg buy viagra 100mg generic
order viagra 100mg without prescription buy tadalafil 20mg online cheap order tadalafil 20mg
order cefuroxime online cefuroxime ca methocarbamol for sale
free online slots casino games win real money buy tadalafil 5mg pills
desyrel 50mg uk order desyrel 50mg sildenafil 50mg canada