When the Bush administration announced last week the proposed sale of the $7 billion Terminal High Altitude Defense system (THAD) to the United Arab Emirates, some observers interpreted the deal as a necessary antidote to Iran’s missile capabilities. Behind this headline, however, are the wider questions of commerce and security. As direct investment continues to flow into the region, countries such as the United States may now feel compelled to protect their interests by all available means, including the sale of military hardware to those Gulf nations where booming markets are attracting Western capital and personnel at an unprecedented rate. Is such explosive growth, and the need to secure it, a harbinger of a new 21st-Century paradigm? Will commerce, in effect, prompt the U.S. to discard its well-worn Middle East policy, which defines Israel as the sole ally and arbiter of American interests in the region?  For more on the proposed sale, see article in Reuters.  (Image above is a DOD photo.)

Comments are closed.