Page 53 of 107 Days
There are red lines and there are shades of gray. Many of our national security relationships exist in complicated tones. Very few are black and white.
We pursue common interests in some areas while managing major conflicting views in others. Where it is possible without compromising our principles, we strive for constructive engagement.
In September, as international heads of state converged on New York City for the UN General Assembly, I would generally schedule back-to-back meetings with world leaders, seizing the opportunity to renew ties and to talk frankly face-to-face. But in the midst of the campaign, I couldn’t do that.
I scheduled just one meeting, with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, or MBZ, as he is known, ruler of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE is a key player in its roiling region. We have numerous economic and military ties, as well as areas of disagreement.
In May 2022, I led the US delegation, which included Tony Blinken, to the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, to pay respects to the late ruler, Sheikh Khalifa, and to meet with his successor.
It was a twenty-hour flight for three hours on the ground, which testifies to the significance the United States places on this relationship.
I had met with MBZ since then at the UN climate conference in Dubai. This time I would welcome him to my West Wing office, the first visit to the White House by a sitting UAE president.
MBZ realizes the importance of the relationship and works on it.
He also understands his power and is no supplicant.
He was born knowing he would very likely rule, and he now knows he will likely rule until he dies.
In that time, he is undoubtedly aware that he will cycle through many elected leaders in the United States, just like his father and his brother, who preceded him as leaders.
In meetings like this, it is important to understand how the relationship has waxed and waned.
I was aware that MBZ was not pleased when the Obama administration negotiated secretly with Iran in the neighboring state of Oman without informing him.
I was also aware that despite the outward congeniality during Trump’s first term, there had been concerns about the shallowness of Trump’s grasp of the region’s history and complexity.
The UAE is a major purchaser of advanced American weapons and, largely thanks to MBZ, has one of the most effective militaries in the region.
He was twenty-nine years old when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and he shared his father’s determination that such a thing would never happen to the UAE.
The Emirates now has compulsory military service and highly trained special forces.
In many ways, he is a visionary, encouraging an outward-looking culture tolerant of non-Islamic religions, investing in education, supporting women’s participation in the workforce and the military.
He has streamlined his state’s bureaucracy and diversified the economy away from oil, determined to make it a leader in artificial intelligence.
He has also created a surveillance state with zero tolerance for any hint of radical Islamism, which he sees as an existential threat. He has imprisoned his critics and stoked fighting in Yemen, Sudan, and Libya, with dire humanitarian consequences.
I have found him thoughtful, shrewd, and whether his priorities are aligned or in conflict with ours, I believe he is driven by conviction.
He sees Hamas as an example of the radical Islamic movements that pose a threat to the stability of the Gulf regimes.
He understands Israel’s desire to crush it.
But he also wants an end to the Gaza war and innocent civilian suffering, and he wants to see a path toward a Palestinian state.
Emirati investment will be critical in rebuilding Gaza, but he has made it clear that there will be no funding until there is a Palestinian state on the horizon.
The thaw in his country’s relations with Israel would not continue while the humanitarian catastrophe continued to unfold.
Sudan, meanwhile, has taken the UAE to the International Court of Justice, claiming the UAE has sent advanced weapons to the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group accused of raping and slaughtering civilians.
Our UN ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had witnessed firsthand the civilian catastrophe it caused and had called on the UAE to support peace talks.
With my national security adviser Phil Gordon beside me, we discussed these two conflicts and what steps MBZ might be willing to take to de-escalate in Sudan and support humanitarian relief in Gaza.
In both conflicts, I stressed that our priority was to get the warring parties to the table and allow unfettered humanitarian access.
MBZ had brought his brother Sheikh Tahnoun, who is leading the UAE’s AI superpower campaign and is responsible for billions in investment. He has lived and breathed AI since discovering Google’s AI chess program in 2017.
I expressed my concern that AI should be cultivated and used in the public interest, and that we need to establish international rules and norms for that. The sheikh’s first priority was investing in innovation and securing the UAE’s primacy as the tech leader in the Gulf.
He was, at least, receptive to the conversation.