Dubai threatened over cooperation with West (2002)

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An Islamic extremist group warned Dubai and other sheikdoms of the United Arab Emirates that it would attack the crucial tourism industry if authorities persisted in arresting militants wanted by the West. The threat, contained in a letter dated 2002 and newly declassified by the U.S. military, shows the intimidation Arab countries face if they cooperate with the West. The letter came the same year the Emirates turned over to the United States a suspected mastermind of the deadly bombing of the USS Cole.

The UAE has kept making arrests, including the detention and handover to Pakistan in 2004 of a Pakistani suspect who allegedly trained thousands of al-Qaida fighters. However, the issue of whether the country does enough to fight terrorism was at the center of a dispute in the United States over a Dubai company's plans — since abandoned — to run U.S. ports.

The group that issued the 2002 threat, calling itself "Qaida al-Jihad," or the Qaida (Base) of Holy War, also said in its letter that it had infiltrated the UAE's "security, censorship and monetary agencies, along with other agencies that should not be mentioned." "You are an easier target than (the Americans); your homeland is exposed to us," the letter said. "There are many vital interests that will hurt you if we decided to harm them, especially since you rely on shameless tourism in your economic income."

The group's exact affiliation was impossible to determine, and the U.S. military did not say when or where the letter was found. Officials in the UAE have long feared they would be a target of al-Qaida, especially as cities like Dubai have boomed and drawn large numbers of European and Asian tourists. The Emirates also allows the United States to base U.S. Air Force spy planes and refueling flights on its territory and allows U.S. warships to visit — things that have brought al-Qaida's wrath on other countries, notably Saudi Arabia.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3728458.html