Entanglements between the United States and the United Arab Emirates run both deep and wide. From its employment of 280 former US military personnel to its ongoing purchase of billions of dollars’ worth of US military equipment and weapons, the UAE has long sought to influence and leverage knowledge of US political and military affairs. In November 2022, the Washington Post reported that a classified National Intelligence Council report circulating through Washington, DC, implied that the UAE’s presence in the United States had become something of a national security concern  — mainly because of the $64 million the UAE spent lobbying for its preferred politics in Washington in 2020 and 2021. With some of the deepest pockets in DC, Emirati lobbyists have defended their interests against congressional efforts to limit arms sales to the UAE and used the Abraham
Accords to win, in fact, increased quantities of arms annually. Other lobbyists on the Emirati payroll have sought to rekindle the interventionist appetite in the United States, pushing for US monetary and military support for the prolonged war in Yemen, where the UAE maintains ground troops, backs armed groups, and occupies a number of territories. After President Joe Biden revoked his predecessor’s designation of the Houthi movement as a terrorist organization, Emirati lobbyists swooped in to demand its restoration. Meanwhile, other lobbyists on retainer doubled down on efforts to drum up enthusiasm for the Expo 2020 in Dubai, which ultimately drew 192 participating countries. It just goes to show: money can buy everything.