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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE):

JUST DESERTS Dubai's skyscrapers behind the islands of The World, off the coast of the Gulf emirate. Due to be finished by the end of 2008, The World is made of 300 small artificial islands forming the planet Earth

The UAE's emirate of Dubai is well known as a mythical desert paradise of indoor ski slopes, man-made archipelagos, and seven-star hotels. And though President Bush famously stuck his neck out for this "valuable partner in fighting the war on terror" during last year's Dubai Ports World debacle, the UAE is also a place where homosexuals are subjected to public lashings and forced hormone treatments while terrorist operatives and nuclear proliferators go about their business with little fear of interference.

The UAE has long provided an open, welcoming environment for the world's most dangerous elements. Al Qaeda has used Dubai as a financial and transit point both before and after the 9/11 attacks, while rogue nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan used Dubai as a chief conduit for illegal shipments of nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya, and Iran. This can be attributed in part to the sheer volume of trade accommodated by the global financial hub and a historic "willful blindness" when it comes to matters of illicit commerce. But the UAE's frequent bouts of indifference regarding U.S. concerns have been a factor as well—it has blown off numerous U.S. extradition requests, and in 2003 it ignored a U.S. request to intercept an illegal shipment of nuclear technology going through its ports.

The UAE has tried to strengthen its commercial oversight and cooperation on key intelligence matters, particularly as it lobbies for a trade agreement with the United States. But its ports and financial system continue to be used for very bad things. Last year, a UAE-based company was busted for ferrying Improvised Explosive Device (IED) components that are being used against U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. The UAE only narrowly averted sanctions earlier this year after U.S. officials expressed their concerns with the flow of supplies to Syria and Iran made possible by UAE's ports. And though the UAE claimed last year to have stopped letting notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout use its airports, "Merchant of Death" author Douglas Farah reports that Bout continues to use the UAE as a hub for his criminal enterprise to this very day.

THE COALITION OF THE WILLING >>