Undoubtedly, the United Arab Emirates or UAE is the country that has attracted the most attention in the world in the current 2020. One political and military ambition after another of this small, but extremely rich Gulf monarchy is causing surprise.
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| A militia backed by the UAE in Yemen. On the sidewall is a picture of the late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, the founder of the UAE. |
They have sent rockets to Mars this year. Irrespective of the controversy, the Arabs have built relations with Israel, their eternal enemy. The country is also being praised for the way it has handled the coronavirus.
Not only has the infection spread quickly, but the factory has also installed the appropriate equipment in the factory overnight to make anti-infection clothing (PPE) and ship it to other countries.
At the same time, the UAE did not shy away from engaging in civil wars to reduce Iran's influence in Yemen and Turkey's influence in Somalia and Libya.
There is no doubt that the UAE's foreign policy is attracting the attention of international relations researchers and analysts.
Middle East expert said. In a recent analysis by Reuters news agency, Nayel Shama wrote that until a few years ago, a small Gulf country with a small population, which had little to do with the world, had developed a keen interest in the country's "huge ambitions."
What is their goal?
Naturally, the question arises, why this ambition of theirs?
In a report, the BBC's defense correspondent Frank Gardner recalled one of his experiences during the Kosovo war 21 years ago.
‘It was May 1999. The war in Kosovo lasted a year. The Emirates Red Crescent has set up a temporary refugee camp on the Albania-Kosovo border. In that camp, they have flown cooks from Dubai-Abu Dhabi, butchers for halal meat, telecom engineers, and even an imam. The UAE troops are patrolling the camp with heavy weapons and armored vehicles.
The pilot of the UAE Air Force pilot was the pilot of the helicopter that arrived at the border camp the day before from the Albanian capital, Tirana.
“I immediately recognized the tall, bearded man who was brushing his teeth in the side basin in the camp bathroom. He is Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed (the current Crown Prince of the country). Graduate of the British Royal Military Academy. Since then, he has played a key role in increasing his country's military presence. "
Sheikh Mohammad gave an interview to the BBC even though he did not want to.
He said they had a military strategic cooperation agreement with France. According to the agreement, the UAE will buy 400 French tanks. Instead, the French will train a brigade of UAE emirates and deploy them to Kosovo with French troops.
"In a country that has not yet been 30 years of independence, their initiative was really courageous," says Frank Gardner.
The distance from Abu Dhabi to Kosovo is 2,000 miles. Many were amazed at this military ambition of a small Gulf monarchy so far away.
After Kosovo, Afghanistan:
The UAE was the first Arab country to deploy troops in Europe in support of NATO forces. Then comes Afghanistan. After the fall of the Taliban, the rest of the world did not know for a long time that the Emirati forces were allies of the NATO forces.
The emirates then built schools, built mosques, and dug wells for drinking water in Afghanistan.
"The UAE did not have a large military role in Afghanistan. But they have used money and religion to quell local resentment towards Neto troops, "said Frank Gardner.
‘Small, but fearless’:
Former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis named the UAE "Little Sparta" after seeing this military ambition in a country as small as one million people.
Then in the last 20 years, especially in the last decade, the wings of the UAE's political and military ambitions have widened. As well as becoming a regional and international business hub, the UAE has become a major military power in the Middle East.
Soon after the turmoil in the Arab Spring, the UAE began to shake its head in public in various parts of the Middle East. Now their role in the Red Sea region and in East Africa is becoming clear.
Dr. The UAE has become one of the major political players in several countries in the Horn of Africa region, writes Nayel Shama. They have become ‘kingmakers’ in some countries, mainly through financial opportunities, meaning they have brought the government of their choice to power.
Again, they are playing the role of 'peacemaker' in many places. The UAE has played a major role in ending the recent two-decade conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
At the same time, a UAE-based Dubai-based entity has taken over the management of four ports in the Red Sea region, namely Egypt, Yemen, Somalia, and Saudi Arabia, for geopolitical influence and commercial interests.
The UAE has also set up small military bases in Yemen, Eritrea, and Somaliland.
The UAE no longer wants to suppress its military and political ambitions. In an interview, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargas told the BBC: "We want to be an important country in the world. I want to play a role in the world. ”
To achieve that goal, he said, "we have to take the risk."
Many observers believe that one of the purposes of the UAE is to acquire sophisticated weapons and intelligence technology in order to establish relations with Israel, regardless of the bloodshed in large parts of the Arab and Muslim world.
Why this aspiration:
But where they themselves are risking a kind of risk, yet this tiny state has begun to satisfy their aspirations in the Middle East and beyond?
Most observers believe that the main reason behind this ambition is the extreme disgust and fear of the Emirati rulers, especially Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, over "political Islam".
The Arab world has a new relationship with Israel, much to the chagrin of the Palestinians
That's why the UAE has backed a military coup in Egypt against the democratically elected Morsi government in 2013. Although the then US government accepted the Muslim Brotherhood-backed government, the UAE was desperate to remove them.
In Libya, they are helping militia leader Khalifa Haftar overthrow the UN-backed government.
The UAE's main accusation against Qatar is that it is helping Islamists in the Middle East. And that's why they became Saudi Arabia's allies in the blockade against Qatar.
Dr. Nayel Shama believes that Islamic militancy is seen by the UAE rulers as a threat to its existence and that the main goal of their military and political activities in East Africa is to suppress this Islamic militancy.
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| UAE Special Forces in Afghanistan |
The UAE's main targets in East Africa are the Bosco-based Al Ittihad al-Islami, the Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement, the Sudanese Takfir wal Hijra, and the Somali al-Shabab.
Collision with Turkey:
Even the UAE is not shying away from confronting the Erdogan government in Turkey.
Earlier this month, they sent warships and warplanes to the Greek island of Crete for a joint exercise with the Greek army.
At a time when tensions are running high between Greece and Turkey over their right to explore for energy in the Mediterranean, Turkey sees the joint military exercise with Greece as a provocation.
Can you handle UAE?
However, there are questions among many as to whether the UAE wants to move forward too fast.
Gulf region expert Michael Stevens told the BBC: "There is no doubt that the UAE is now the most effective military power in the Arab world. No other Arab country has yet thought of how quickly they can deploy troops outside the country. ”
But, he said, the country is too small and has too many capacity deficits. "As a result, if they run into a lot of problems at once, they will be at risk, and in the long run, the opposite will happen."
Observers say the UAE sees the potential military conflict between Iran and the United States as the riskiest. And because of that, the UAE's position in the anti-Iran coalition has in various ways indicated in recent times that it is reluctant to engage in any direct conflict with Iran.
The UAE is also worried about the possibility of any conflict with itself due to its geographical location, economic prosperity, and the reputation it has established as a safe haven for foreigners. If there is a US war with Iran, it could be the epicenter of the conflict, which is the coast of the UAE along the Strait of Hormuz.
Elizabeth Dickinson of the International Crisis Group recently told the Washington Post: "The UAE has a vested interest in maintaining stability in their region. Any threat to their infrastructure is a nightmare for them. The region's strongest economy says its reputation, its trust, will crumble. "
90% of the people living in the UAE are foreigners. They build and maintain all kinds of infrastructure in the country. The UAE will be paralyzed if foreigners start leaving due to insecurity. That is why the UAE refrains from direct criticism of Iran.
When a Saudi oil tanker exploded off the coast of the UAE in June last year, they refused to blame Iran for colluding with the United States and Saudi Arabia. Later, when the United States sent warships to the Persian Gulf, the UAE sent a delegation to Tehran to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a move the Americans did not like.
In the ongoing war, the UAE has been working to fill the power vacuum in the Middle East created by the weaknesses of the once-great powers of the Arab world, such as Iraq, Syria, and Libya.
Aspirations for regional supremacy within the UAE are growing day by day due to their outstanding economic prosperity, fears about Iran, concerns about militant Islam, and new US geopolitical policies.
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