Blinken UAE Pres hold talks amid reports of latter hiring ex-US servicemen to train Army

US State Department's head Antony Blinken held talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The US Secretary of State and UAE's President discussed ways to widen and deepen the bilateral relationship between the two nations. They also discussed regional issues such as the conflict in Ethiopia, primarily the necessity of peace in northern Ethiopia. 

The talks between Antony Blinken and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan came at the heels of information that UAE has been using retired US troops to enhance its own military. As per documents acquired by the Washington Post under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), UAE hired 280 American military veterans to work for their military, which is far more than any other country. These 280 military veterans are not regular soldiers of officers but prominent senior leaders of the US military. One example is retired Marine Gen. Jim Mattis, also known as 'Mad dog Mattis'. He was the defence secretary (defence minister) of the US under Donald Trump's administration. The documents which were released as a result of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request reveal that Gen. Jim Mattis worked as a military advisor to the UAE.  

Why are US military veterans working for the UAE a problem?

Whilst UAE and US enjoy good bilateral relations, a result of UAE strengthening its military has been that it is using its troops as a policy tool by sending them to Libya and Yemen, which has led to a deepening of conflict in the region. The recent reports of Britain's RAF pilots working for China's PLA and French fighter pilots working for China, all due to generous paychecks, has highlighted the problem of people in Western armed forces putting paychecks above patriotism. Although at first sight, it seems nothing is wrong with senior US military leaders taking money from the UAE in exchange for helping them strengthen their military, a strong UAE military poses the risk of undermining US policy goals in the region. “The Emiratis have gathered immense influence and they punch way above their weight class, but they have used that to undermine U.S. foreign policy in terms of our support for the rule of law, democracy and counterterrorism. It’s hard to see how this is a good thing," said Jodi Vittori, who is a professor at the school of foreign service, at Georgetown University.