Gen. Peter Pace: U.A.E. a 'Superb' Ally

From the NewsMax.com Staff

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Friday, Feb. 24, 2006 12:38 a.m. EST

Gen. Peter Pace: U.A.E. a 'Superb' Ally

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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace said Thursday that the U.S. has a "superb" military relationship with the United Arab Emirates, explaining that U.S. forces use U.A.E. seaports and air fields for logistics support and for training of Air Force pilots.

"In everything that we have asked and worked with them on, they have proven to be very, very solid partners," the top military man said, in quotes picked up by the Associated Press.

Gen. Pace's comments offered a glimpse into what could be the White House's motivation for going to the wall in the Dubai ports takeover controversy - the need to stick by a strategic ally who may be indispensable in any future conflict with Iran.

So why doesn't the Bush administration say so out loud?

Story Continues Below

Notes the AP: The U.S. relationship with the U.A.E. is so politically sensitive that the Pentagon does not openly discuss details.

Some of those details, however, are known to include the following:

Air Force U-2 spy planes and Global Hawk unmanned surveillance aircraft have been based at the U.A.E.'s al-Dhafra air base, along with KC-10 aerial refueling planes. Al-Dhafra is said to have played a key role in both the Iraq and Afghanistan air wars.

U.S. sailors and Marines regularly make liberty calls at the port of Jebel Ali, near the U.A.E.'s largest city, Dubai. Former Iraq war commander Gen. Tommy Franks said Wednesday that Jebel Ali is "the best run port that I've ever seen."

With the U.A.E. located directly across the Straits of Hormuz from Iran, Jebel Ali and al Dhafra offer the U.S. forward bases of operations should Tehran attempt to shut down the key waterway, which it threatened to do last month if sanctioned by the U.N.

Twenty-five percent of the world's oil supply passes through the Straits of Hormuz.

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