The myth of “Little Sparta” is waning as security in the UAE shatter

The UAE has been described in the international media as “Little Sparta” and one of the oases of security in the Middle East, but the state’s crimes and wars negatively affected it by shattering the security theory in Abu Dhabi.

Years ago, former US Secretary of Defense James Mattis described the UAE as “Little Sparta”, a metaphor for the Greek city of Sparta, which was fighting many foreign wars in the hope of imposing its hegemony and control beyond its size.

It seems that the rulers of the Emirates have believed the matter and began to act as if they were already so, implicating themselves, and still are, in wars, conflicts and conspiracies. They thought that their country would be immune from the repercussions of those wars and that they would not pay the price for their involvement in them.

Instead, some motorists have even promoted illusions that the Arabs are currently living in what they called the “Emirati moment”, which means, in short, that the UAE has become the only influential and dominant player in the Arab arena.

However, it seems that the “Yemen hurricane” has shattered these illusions and reminded that the Arab “Sparta” would remain small, no matter how hard you try to think otherwise.

This came after the Houthis launched several attacks on Abu Dhabi on the seventeenth of last month, in what is known as Operation Hurricane Yemen, which included an attack with ballistic missiles and drones.

The “waves” of the hurricane followed, at a rate of attack almost every week, with a second attack occurring on January 24 and a third on the thirty-first of the same month. On February 2, an Iraqi faction (the Al-Waad al-Haq Brigades) launched a fourth attack on the Emirati capital with drones.

The “Yemen Hurricane” attacks mean that the war in Yemen is expanding and that its theatre of operations is no longer limited to it but extends to include Abu Dhabi, which is now in the Houthis’ crosshairs have also targeted Riyadh over the past years.

Observers consider that this is a qualitative and dangerous shift regarding the war in Yemen and the developments of the conflict and the balance of power in the region.

Until the middle of last month, the UAE was safe and reassured that its participation in the war in Yemen would not be without an actual price, would not have internal repercussions and that its fire would not reach its territory.

The UAE repositioned itself in Yemen and withdrew a significant part of its forces there and contented itself with recruiting and supporting mercenaries, whether from Yemen or from outside, to fight the war on its behalf.

But after the fires of war reached the edges of the Emirati dress and the heart of the capital Abu Dhabi, this meant the need for a new type and balance of deterrence and terror with the Houthis.

Also, the Houthi attacks shuffled the cards on the new regional arrangements, which had begun to emerge against the background of the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and the Iranian-Emirati rapprochement that had preceded the attacks. They reached reasonable levels of dialogue and coordination during the past few months.

What is more dangerous is that these attacks made clear the UAE’s security, military and strategic exposure to the Houthis and their allies in the region.

Therefore, the attacks came as a psychological and mental shock to the rulers in Abu Dhabi, who rushed to seek help from their regional and international allies, especially Israel and America.

The Emirati losses from the “Yemen hurricane” attacks do not stop at the psychological and security dimensions. The hurricane struck hard, the narrative that the UAE has promoted, and still is, for itself over the past decades as a “safe oasis in the heart of the desert.”

According to several reports, there is a state of alert within the UAE security and defence forces and within the ranks of the foreign forces present there American, French, and others.

It is known that more than four thousand American soldiers are stationed at Al Dhafra Air Base near Abu Dhabi Airport as part of the arrangements for the post-Gulf II phase.

These forces played a key role in repelling the second Houthi attack on the UAE through the Patriot missile system, which has not been used since the second Gulf War.

There is an American concern that the continuation of Houthi attacks may affect stability in the Emirates and disrupt US interests there, especially at the security and logistical levels.

Also, the repercussions and implications of the “Yemen cyclone” go beyond the military and security dimensions to reach the economic, financial, commercial and tourism structure of the UAE.

In addition to oil, the UAE economy depends on trade and foreign investment, which amounted to about $20 billion last year, and foreign tourism, which exceeds 20 million tourists annually, generating an income of about $20 billion. Wars and conflicts are the fiercest enemies of investment and tourism.

There are news reports of fears among foreign residents in the UAE of repeated attacks. There are explicit American and British warnings to their citizens to avoid travelling to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

It is the first time we have read these warnings regarding the UAE, which indicates that the situation is unstable and unreassuring.