"Rogue state" and secret wars .. Why not spy America on the UAE?

The United Arab Emirates is funding retired Libyan general Khalifa Hifter, who is trying to topple the internationally recognized government in Libya, and is leading a coalition of countries blockading Qatar despite US calls to resolve the dispute.

The UAE, as revealed by a Reuters investigation this year, recruits people with previous experience working for the US National Security Agency to spy, as part of a program aimed at monitoring Americans.

Despite all this, three former CIA officials said the CIA is not spying on the UAE government, which is very strange, in what some critics call a dangerous dark spot in the CIA world.

This position on the part of the CIA is not new, but what has changed is the nature of the intervention of this small and influential OPEC member throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Secret wars
The UAE is engaged in wars, conducting covert operations and using its financial strength to reshape the regional political scene in ways that often conflict with US interests, sources and foreign policy experts say.

A fourth former CIA official said the CIA's failure to cope with the UAE's growing military and political ambitions amounted to "dereliction of duty."

The CIA, the National Security Agency and the White House declined to comment on US spying activities in the UAE, and the UAE Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy in the UAE did not respond to requests for comment.

Four former CIA officials said CIA spies were collecting information using almost every human element about every other country in which the United States has significant interests, including some key allies.

Saudi Arabia, perhaps the closest counterweight to the UAE, is another powerful ally in the Middle East and a major oil producer and buys US arms.

Two former CIA officials and a former intelligence officer in a Gulf state say the agency often targets Saudi Arabia, unlike the UAE.

"Rogue State"
A former official in President Donald Trump's administration said the lack of information gathering in the UAE was disturbing, as the emirate now functions as a "rogue state" in strategic countries such as Libya and Qatar, and even further on the African continent.

In Sudan, the UAE spent years and billions in support of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during his long rule, then abandoned him and supported the military leaders who overthrew him in April.

The UAE has also set up military bases in Eritrea and Somaliland. "If you turn any stone in the Horn of Africa, the UAE will be there," said the former Trump administration official.

In Yemen, the UAE and Saudi Arabia led an alliance fighting the Houthis allied with Iran, but the UAE has recently begun withdrawing its forces, amid international criticism over the air strikes that killed thousands of civilians, and sparked a humanitarian crisis that pushed millions to the brink of starvation.

Recently, the US Congress passed resolutions to stop arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but President Trump has vetoed these resolutions.

The UAE government has spent $ 46.8 million on U.S. lobbyists since 2017, according to the Center for Response Policies.

One of the three CIA officials, aware of CIA operations in the UAE, said collecting information about its government was necessary for reasons beyond its regional interventions.

The UAE is also forging close ties with Russia, including a wide-ranging strategic partnership signed last year to cooperate in the fields of security, trade and oil markets, as well as close ties with China, where Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi's crown prince and de facto ruler, paid a three-day visit. China last month, to attend an economic forum between the two countries.

But some national security experts still see a sufficient consensus between US and UAE interests to explain the continued absence of espionage, said retired CIA official Norman Roll, referring to Iran and al Qaeda - "their enemies are our enemies."

"Abu Dhabi's actions have made a contribution to the war on terror, particularly against al-Qaeda in Yemen," he said.

Democracy scares
The crown prince of Abu Dhabi holds the keys to foreign policy in the UAE, and a small group of advisors. His brother, Tahnoun bin Zayed, who studied in the United States, was chosen for his position as national security adviser. He is a fan of martial arts and owns a stable of Arab racing horses; his son, Khalid bin Mohammed bin Zayed, runs the country's extensive internal surveillance network.

The UAE's growing propensity to intervene abroad dates back to 2011. Jude Vittori, a former Air Force Intelligence officer who now works for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said mass protests calling for democracy across the region during the Arab Spring uprisings raised growing concern among the ruling elite in the UAE. To retain its authority.

The UAE leaders regarded the demonstrations as a threat to the monarchy in the region, as are many members of the ruling families in the Gulf region.

They have since fought the extension of so-called "political Islam" and the Muslim Brotherhood, which briefly rose to power in Egypt after popular protests overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The UAE cut off financial support to Egypt when Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi was elected president in 2012, then resumed spending billions of aid when the Egyptian army overthrew Morsi a year later.