Source 1. Al Qaeda claims a lot of things. Since when do we accept their claims as fact? The most important point from the Al Qaeda letter to the UAE is the fact that Al Qaeda is threatening the UAE for all the support the UAE has given the United States in the WOT. If anything, this Al Qaeda letter is evidence of why we should support the UAE.
Source 2. Written in 2002 and mostly talks about pre 9/11. Also, it discusses private companies. Not State Governments.
Source 3. See source 1.
Source 4. The EU supports Hamas. Should we cut trade with them?
Source 5. Pre 9/11.
Source 6. So are you saying organized crime is a problem unique to the UAE.
"There are Islamists who support Al Qaeda in all Gulf states."
There are Islamists who support Al Qaeda in every nation of the world, including this one.
"He only hates the ones who want to modernize."
He has declared Jihad on the whole Saudi royal family. And they have declared war on him. The fact remains, the reason they asked us to stop military operations out of Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with Bin Laden.
I proved my point with facts. Now you don't like my facts but you have done nothing to disprove them. You make specious arguments against them but have shown no facts disproving any of them.
From Source 2 --
"Dubai is also one of the region's most open banking centers and is the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, one of three countries that maintained diplomatic relations with the Taliban until shortly after Sept. 11. Sitting at a strategic crossroad of the Persian Gulf, South Asia and Africa, Dubai has long been a financial hub for Islamic militant groups. Much of the $500,000 used to fund the Sept. 11 attacks came through Dubai, investigators believe.
"All roads lead to Dubai when it comes to money. Everyone did business there," said Patrick Jost, who until last year was a senior financial enforcement officer in the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network."
'snip'
"Dubai's links to suspected terrorist financing and money laundering have long been a point of contention between the United States and the United Arab Emirates."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A22303-2002Feb16?language=printer
Private companies in the UAE doing dirty deals is not a problem, right? Either the government knows (bad and likely) or they don't have control (worse).
Source 4 - EU supports Hamas too? Show me where the EU gives bounties for Jihadists. That is the worst equivalency on this thread and I'm no Europhile.
Pre 9/11 was okay? Wow, short memory for the Khobar Towers and USS Cole dead. Some of us are still angry about Lebanon and Iran. And I'm supposed to believe the UAE did a complete 180 and cleaned out all their Al Qaeda loving sheiks? Why? Their form of government is not capable of that. Sheiks are not voted out of power.
Source 6 -- So supporting Al Qaeda is now a WOD issue to you? Massive distortion by you. Guess what, our Mafia does not support global Jihad.
"He has declared Jihad on the whole Saudi royal family. And they have declared war on him. The fact remains, the reason they asked us to stop military operations out of Saudi Arabia has nothing to do with Bin Laden.'
Show me the FACTS on that and everything else you have claimed. Thus far all I have is your say so and that's not good enough especially given your dismissal of hard data to the contrary.
and here is one more:
"I don't doubt that the UAE has provided a great deal of assistance to the United States in the War on Terror, for which we ought to be grateful. And all nations will have organized crime of one variety or another, so the presence of some wiseguys in Dubai doesn't disqualify them from doing business in the U.S. My point is that these particular gangsters are also Islamic terrorists with serious links to al Qaeda, and there is precious little evidence that Dubai is serious about stopping them. "
'snip'
You can either do business with terrorists, or you can do business with the United States. In the coming weeks, let's watch the Emirates make crystal clear which side they have picked.
http://www.spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=9459