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Overall, the UAE does not recognize Israel, and pushes resolutions of condemnation every chance it gets, etc. UAE is openly anti-semitic. (Edit: corrected once I realized I was reading on 'The Arab Gulf States' not realizing UAE isn't synonymous.)
The neighboring Persian Gulf states of Oman and Qatar allow very limited business-related Israeli missions -- or still did fairly recently. And two years ago Dubai allowed an international World Bank conference to fly the Israeli flag in public (along with 30 or 40 others) but took great pains to state that it was over their objections and was a World Bank requirement to host the conference there. Around the same time there were some rumors Dubai would join Oman and Qatar in tolerating some business connection, but Dubai furiously denied that and as far as I can tell nothing came of it.
Probably like Hamas' recent careful rephrasing -- 'of course we recognize Israel -- we know it's there, we deal with it, or not, as a real entity -- but what we won't ever recognize is that it has a RIGHT to exist indefinitely.'
According to the book "Funding Terrorism" although Dubai enacted money-laundering laws recently (to meet international banking standards related to terrorism or get itself into a bank-boycott situation), it has one of the least-regulated gold markets anywhere and has continued to be active in less obvious methods of money-laundering and illicit super-large cash transfers called Halawas.
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When the body has a cancer - even a very small one - physicians use every means at their disposal to eradicate it. There is no talk of proportionality. Healthy tissue may suffer the treatments, but radiation, chemotherapy and anything else that works is sent into the battle when dealing with a disease that will, sooner or later, snuff out life.
Well, in truth I'm actually not a total hawk, but I'm not a dove either -- I'm more like an angry pigeon flying over the political arena after a really big meal. -Abba Gav
Last edited by AZZenny; February 22nd, 2006 at 08:55 PM.
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