News

UAE Terror alert is ‘long overdue’ says expert

(16 June 2008)

Dr Chris Davidson

A Middle East expert and author of new book on Dubai warns that the new terror alert in the United Arab Emirates is likely to lead to a significant downturn in Dubai’s “fragile” tourist and real estate industries.

The Foreign Office has just told British nationals in the United Arab Emirates that there is now a high risk of a terror attack there. Dr Christopher Davidson, Lecturer in Middle East Politics, Durham University, outlines the terror threat in the final chapter of his new book, called “Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success.” Dubai is one of seven states in the UAE. Dr Davidson said: “In many ways this terror alert is long overdue, as since summer 2005 there have been a series of significant threats made to the UAE government, most of which have focused on the UAE’s close relationship with the West, in particular its discreet provision of seaport and airport facilities for the US-led coalition’s War on Terror. “The UAE’s second largest emirate – Dubai - has long been a favoured holiday destination for British and other European nationals, and since the year 2000 it has emerged as an attractive opportunity for overseas property investors. “These new warnings are likely to lead to a significant downturn in Dubai’s fragile tourist and real estate industries, which it has been building up since its oil reserves began to decline in the mid 1990s. “In particular, Dubai’s many luxury hotels, most of which are packed with non-Muslim and non-Arab foreigners, provide Al-Qaeda and other groups with very soft targets.” Further information from the Financial Times report: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a1bd7dc0-3c06-11dd-9cb2-0000779fd2ac.html and the Daily Telegraph report: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/middleeast/uae/2145356/MI6-warns-of-terror-attack-on-Dubai.html