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An American ally and Sunni Arab monarchy, the United Arab Emirates is often praised by conservatives for its robust policy toward Islamist extremist movements and cooperation with Israel. There’s no question that the UAE is an important ally.
It has made massive investments in the U.S. economy, especially since President Donald Trump’s return to office. It also provides important counterterrorism cooperation and support for the U.S. military in the Middle East. It should also be noted that the UAE was also disrespected by the Biden and Obama administrations, both of which neglected the Arab values of trust and reliability among friends. This record means that the UAE is often contrasted with Qatar, which exists both as an American ally and as a key source of funding for Islamic extremists and terrorists. Qatar is, put simply, a very problematic ally.
Still, the UAE is far from a perfect American partner.
The kingdom has too long treated its robust counterterrorism activities as a blank check for anti-American activities in other areas. The UAE remains far too close to China for a privileged American ally. A mix of three active and former U.S. government sources has told the Washington Examiner that the UAE has provided Russia with the identities of U.S. intelligence officers. The UAE also remains a global safe haven for organized crime groups and corrupt officials. Finally, this union of seven Islamic emirates has supported destabilizing groups in Sudan and Yemen.
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The UAE’s relationship with Russia and China runs deep.
The UAE has built an extremely close relationship with America’s primary global adversary, the Chinese Communist Party. The UAE’s technology cooperation with China in the field of artificial intelligence is a particular concern. While Israel has engaged in similarly problematic cooperation and the UAE has taken steps to mitigate this concern, China-UAE technology cooperation and black-market trade remain persistent problems.
The United States is deeply concerned about China’s access to cutting-edge technology. For a simple reason: that technology will allow China to defeat the U.S. in a future war over Taiwan. The UAE doesn’t recognize this reality. When, for example, the U.S. raised concerns over whether the UAE would safeguard F-35 fighter jets from Chinese espionage if the U.S. was to sell it those jets, the UAE petulantly bought fighter jets from France. But with Trump back in the Oval Office, the UAE is making a renewed push to buy F-35s.
The UAE is also a favored destination for sanctioned Russian oligarchs.
These corrupt billionaires use Dubai’s luxury real estate market as a safe harbor for their assets. A safe harbor that has found added appeal since Western sanctions were imposed following Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Newly denied their luxury yacht births in France, their opulent mansions in England, and their sprawling villas in Italy, Dubai offers the oligarchs continued luxury living, fine restaurants, and high-class prostitutes, including victims of human trafficking. The UAE government has largely ignored Western concerns about this activity.
Numerous shell companies have also been established in the UAE to evade Western sanctions on Russia and other countries. Ethically questionable multinational corporations such as Trafigura have benefitted from these efforts alongside their patrons in the Kremlin, especially in support of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” of sanctioned oil tankers. But the Russian intelligence services also benefit from close relations with the UAE. Even as UAE officials claim to prize their relationship with the U.S., the kingdom engages closely with all three of the primary Russian intelligence services. As noted, this cooperation has directly endangered U.S. intelligence personnel.
Then there’s the UAE foreign policy.
The UAE deserves significant praise for its cooperation with Israel and willingness to confront terrorist groups. Unfortunately, this is only one side of its foreign policy coin. In Sudan, the UAE has covertly supported the Rapid Support Forces, a group of thugs responsible for the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of people. The UAE’s primary motive here has been to protect its economic interests in the gold and Red Sea port trades. And although it has recently retreated under heavy Saudi pressure, the UAE previously armed a southern separatist movement in Yemen in order to advance its economic interests.
Finally, there’s the organized crime factor.
As with corrupt oligarchs, the UAE remains the world’s luxury abode for organized criminals evading justice in their home countries. Notorious for its obstruction of extradition requests, the UAE hosts people such as Daniel Kinahan, the drug lord leader of the Kinahan crime syndicate. The U.S. Justice Department has a $15 million bounty on Kinahan, and his group has long been targeted by law enforcement agencies globally over its drug trafficking, money laundering, and murders. Kinahan cartel members are escorted to and from court by SWAT units in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the UAE, they live like kings. The UAE has refused to extradite Kinahan, instead only partially freezing his assets.
While the UAE has recently begun to speed up its extraditions, this progress is far from sufficient. French President Emmanuel Macron used a recent visit to the UAE to push for the extradition of 15 drug dealers who have taken refuge in Dubai. With drug-related violent crime surging, especially in the port city of Marseille, Macron’s government views these extraditions as an urgent issue.
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Until now, the UAE has assumed that because it confronts Islamic terrorism and engages helpfully with Israel, the U.S. will tolerate its other problematic activities. That should change. The UAE is an important ally and deserves respect as such. But the U.S. should make clear that the UAE can no longer expect cherished treatment if it continues to undermine key American interests.
The embassy of the United Arab Emirates to the United States did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
