http://www.sptimes.com/2006/02/26/Columns/Wealthy_Arab_nation_a.shtml<snip>
Whatever the outcome, Bush "has painted himself into a corner" with his repeated insistence that undemocratic Arab governments breed terrorism and must be reformed, one expert said.
"That's what makes this (ports deal) so confusing to the American people," said Rachel Bronson, director of Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
"Even in this region of authoritarian states, the UAE has shown the least proclivity to experiment with some sort of opening of its political system. If you buy into the idea that reform in the Middle East is the answer, the UAE is a hard sell."<snip>
However, the UAE is among 14 nations that the U.S. State Department says are not doing enough to stop international human trafficking - what Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice calls "a modern form of slavery."
<snip>
The UAE also has a spotty, though much improved, record in cracking down on terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
...she really seems to cover all the issues with this article. It is wonderful.