UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: NATIONAL SECURITY

Armed Forces Overview: In May 1976, the UAE’s main defense forces were merged, and in November the provisional constitution was amended to give the federal government the exclusive right to levy armed forces and acquire weapons. In 1997 the union was further strengthened when Dubai disbanded its armed forces and integrated them into the federal General Headquarters, which are based in Abu Dhabi. At present, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi is the head of the armed forces and as such has strong ties with the United States, which is the UAE’s main Western ally. The UAE is nearing the end of a 10-year, US$15 billion program to modernize its armed forces, upgrade its defense capabilities, and acquire modern technology. As a result of these efforts, the country is considered the most rapidly developing military power in the Gulf region. The UAE military consists of an army, navy, and air force. In 2004 total active troops were estimated at 50,500 personnel: army, 44,000; navy, 2,500; and air force, 4,000.

Foreign Military Relations: The United States remains central to the UAE’s defense policy. A defense pact with the United States, negotiated after the 1991 Gulf War and signed in 1996, allows the United States to preposition some troops and equipment in the UAE and affords it some rights to use air bases in the emirates. In 2004 the UAE and the United States signed a US$6.4 billion contract for the delivery of 80 F–16E/F Desert Falcon combat aircraft to the UAE air force by 2007. The first installment, delivered in April 2005, was marked by a high-profile official ceremony. Nearly 1,000 UAE personnel train at U.S. Army aviation centers in the United States. In 2003 the UAE, in conjunction with the United States, Britain, and France, established the Air Warfare Centre at Al Dhafra Air Base to serve as a regional training center, including F–16 training for the UAE and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Despite the significance of the military relationship with the United States, the UAE has sought diversification in the procurement of weaponry. France remains a primary source of military matériel, as witness recent purchases of Mirage 2000–9 combat aircraft and Panhard light armored vehicles. Russia, Germany, and Ukraine are also actual or potential suppliers.

External Threats: The UAE is concerned by the military threat posed by Iran, given Iran’s unilateral seizure of disputed islands in the Strait of Hormuz, its possession of intermediate-range ballistic missiles, and its suspected development of a nuclear capability. The UAE is not considered to be as vulnerable as Saudi Arabia to the threat from al Qaeda and other militant Islamist groups, as these groups do not have a base of operations or support in the emirates. There are, however, security concerns because of the general volatility of the Gulf region, the repeated terrorist attacks in Iraq, the size and mobility of the UAE’s large, predominantly Muslim expatriate population, and the country’s pro-Western and liberal business environment. UAE officials, who meet regularly with their counterparts in the U.S. Departments of State and Defense, are concerned about the deteriorating situation in Iraq, as well as the threat of further U.S. military action in the region, particularly against Iran, and the impact such an action would have on the UAE’s unpopular pro-Western stance. In February 2005, at a major defense conference in Abu Dhabi, the UAE armed forces signed various agreements to purchase satellite surveillance systems and unmanned reconnaissance vehicles. Military experts view this shift away from more traditional military spending as an acknowledgment that the UAE’s primary threat is not conventional military attack but rather insurgency and terrorism.

Defense Budget: The defense budget has been level since 1995, at US$2.8 billion. Given several significant purchases of military equipment during this period, e.g., F–16 and Mirage 2000 combat aircraft, it is likely that additional procurement funds from external state investments are being made available to the military, thereby raising the actual level of defense spending well over the official budget number.

Major Military Units: The UAE military is divided into an army, navy, and air force (including a police air wing). The army, which is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, is organized into one Royal Guard brigade, two armored brigades, three mechanized infantry brigades, two infantry brigades, and one artillery brigade (three regiments). Dubai has two mechanized infantry brigades that are not integrated into union forces. The navy is based in Abu Dhabi, with additional facilities in Dubai, Ras al Khaymah, and Sharjah. The navy also includes a marine battalion. Principal air force units include three fighter ground-attack squadrons, one fighter squadron, and one combat-capable trainer squadron. The air defense force has two brigades (three battalions).

Major Military Equipment: The army’s main equipment consists of a combination of primarily French- and U.S.-made armored vehicles. The army is reported to be equipped with 469 main battle tanks, 76 light tanks, 113 reconnaissance vehicles, 430 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 860 armored personnel carriers, 93 towed artillery, 181 self-propelled artillery, 72 multiple rocket launchers, 155 mortars, 6 Scud B (up to 20 missiles) surface-to-surface missiles, 305 antitank guided weapons, 262 recoilless launchers, 62 air defense guns, and 40 surface-to-air missiles. The army’s armored capability has been enhanced as part of the UAE’s military modernization program.

The navy’s inventory includes two frigates, two corvettes, eight missile craft, six coastal patrol craft, five landing craft (tank), and two support and miscellaneous craft. Naval aviation has 11 helicopters and another seven helicopters in an antisurface warfare role. As part of its modernization program, the navy is seeking to upgrade blue-water capabilities with the construction of six multirole corvettes and to enhance amphibious capabilities through the acquisition of assault and landing craft as well as amphibious armored personnel carriers for the marine battalion.

The air force has 106 combat aircraft and 59 armed helicopters, as well as assorted reconnaissance, transport, and training aircraft; transport and search-and-rescue helicopters; and both air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles. Air force capabilities are being upgraded significantly through the acquisition of 80 F–16 combat aircraft and 33 multirole Mirage 2000–9 combat aircraft and the upgrading of the 30 Mirage combat aircraft already in the inventory.

Military Service: The UAE’s military is an all-volunteer, all-male force, of which an estimated 30 percent are expatriates.

Paramilitary Forces: The UAE’s paramilitary force consists of a Coast Guard (under the Ministry of Interior) and Frontier Corps. This force maintains 40 patrol craft (inshore) plus a number of boats.

Foreign Military Forces: At Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi, the U.S. Air Force’s 380^th Air Expeditionary Wing has operated aerial refueling tankers, the Global Hawk, and U2 spy planes since early 2002 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq. Al Dhafra is expected to become a permanent U.S. air base for regional operations. The U.S. Air Force currently maintains 1,300 personnel in the UAE.

Military Forces Abroad: In 1984 Gulf Cooperation Council members agreed on the creation of a two-brigade (10,000 troops) Peninsula Shield Force, based in Saudi Arabia. In December 2000, members signed a defense pact to increase forces to 22,000. The Peninsula Shield Force serves as a joint intervention force to defend the joint border of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq.

Police: Although the UAE’s Ministry of Interior oversees the Police General Directorates in each of the seven emirates, each emirate maintains its own police force and supervises its police stations. Police stations take complaints from the public, make arrests, and forward all cases to the public prosecutor, who in turn transfers these cases to the courts.

Internal Threat: UAE nationals are viewed as generally supportive of the structure of family rule that has defined the UAE’s government since independence was declared in 1971. The current president and ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa, faces no serious political challenges from within the ruling families of the emirates. Although there are some concerns regarding the politics of the large (80 percent), predominantly Muslim, expatriate population, the loyalty and effectiveness of the government’s security forces are considered to be sufficient to meet this potential threat.

Terrorism: In July 2004, the UAE enacted legislation that criminalized the funding of terrorist organizations. The law also increased the amount of time that public prosecutors can hold suspects in terrorism-related cases without charge from 21 days to six months. Terrorism cases are referred to the Federal Supreme Court, which may extend the detention period indefinitely.

In December 2004, the Dubai Ports Authority (DPA), which operates the main container ports of Mina Jabal Ali and Mina Rashid, became the first Middle Eastern port to participate in the U.S. Homeland Security Container Security Initiative (CSI) program, which is aimed at preventing materials that could be used by terror groups from entering the United States in shipping containers. Under the CSI, DPA employees will screen suspicious United States-bound containerized cargo transiting Dubai’s ports.

Dubai is strongly linked to the September 11, 2001, attack on the United States; more than half of the hijackers flew directly out of Dubai International Airport to the United States. In response to concerns that the UAE banking system had been used by the 9/11 hijackers to launder funds, in mid-2002 the UAE adopted legislation giving the Central Bank the power to freeze any suspected accounts for seven days without prior legal permission. In addition, banks have been advised to carefully monitor transactions passing through the UAE from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and are now subject to more stringent transaction and client reporting requirements. In 2004, however, a press report suggested that al Qaeda was continuing to use Dubai as a logistical hub for international travel, planning, and finance.

Human Rights: Although the UAE government has made some advances in the protection of human rights, the U.S. Department of State notes in its annual report on human rights practices that numerous fundamental practices and policies exist to the contrary. Specifically, the UAE does not have democratically elected institutions or political parties; free assembly and association are restricted; and the rights of workers are limited. Trafficking in women and girls, used as prostitutes and domestic servants, and in men, used as servants, laborers, and unskilled workers, continues despite government pledges to end these practices. In July 2005, a federal law was enacted criminalizing the use of persons under age 18 for camel racing; a 2002 decree banning the use of underage foreign camel jockeys was never enforced. All Dubai police departments, as well as police departments in other emirates, have human rights and social support offices that furnish assistance to female and child victims of abuse; however, the government is generally viewed as ineffective in protecting women from abuse.

The UAE constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, but in practice these rights are limited. The government licenses all publications and approves the appointment of editors. Laws also govern press content. Negative comments about Islam, the government, ruling families, or UAE citizens (by expatriates) are punishable by imprisonment, although this regulation is rarely enforced, as the press practices self-censorship. The government reviews imported printed material for content and imposes distribution limitations on material considered pornographic, excessively violent, derogatory to Islam, or contrary to government foreign policy.

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