Dubai is tiny part of the world and you act like it's the most important ally we ever had.
Recall that we got kicked out of Saudi Arabia (and their "ports" contracts are untouched in this), and the Turks won't let us use their country for these purposes.
Oh, yeah, Jimmy Carter got us kicked out of Iran 30 years ago.
So, where do you propose going to support our forces with deep water port facilities (for aircraft carriers) and R&R (77,000 troops per year go to UAE for R&R)?
I don't think you can and you know it. Your ulterior motive is to get us out of the ME, turn the oil over to AlQaida and the terrorist regimes in the region, and return America to a low income agrarian society replete with a colorfully costumed peasantry and cute baby animals.
Gad!
Because I am utterly opposed to decision-making based on loudly-screamed falsehoods instead of the truth. I am utterly opposed to decision-making based on fear-mongering designed to boost certain loudmouths' radio ratings instead of being based on the truth.
Dubai is tiny part of the world and you act like it's the most important ally we ever had.
As Dubai goes today, so go Bahrain and Iraq tomorrow. Believe me, everyone in the Middle East watched this debacle--and some are now saying some really nasty things about how Americans are not trustworthy, and those nasty comments are gaining traction.
Basing rights are extremely important--too important to mess around with in the name of left-wing political talking points and talk radio ratings.
Imagine fighting Nazi Germany without any basing rights in Great Britain. Imagine trying to prevent a Soviet invasion of Western Europe without bases on the Continent. Imagine trying to eject Saddam Hussein from Kuwait without basing rights in Saudi Arabia.
Now imagine trying to contain Iran without any bases in the Gulf.
Dubai has the three most important traits for real estate: location, location, and location. Piss them off at your own risk.