City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism (55 page)

BOOK: City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism
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25.
Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark,
Deception: Pakistan, the United States and the Global Nuclear Weapons Conspiracy
(London: Atlantic Books, 2007), 8, 139, 282, 328, 367–68, 375.

26.
From an undated story in the Dubai-based newspaper
7 Days
,
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=31485&n_tit=UAE+%3A+Dh+20+Million+Wafi+Mall+Heist+in+Dubai+-++the+Story
.

27.
The two former ministers are Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, former minister of state for finance and former chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank and its real-estate affiliate Deyaar; he has denied any wrongdoing; Khalifa Bakhit al-Falasi, a minister of state, who was sentenced to jail in early 2009, saw his conviction overturned on appeal in May 2009.

28.
Christopher Davidson, “Dubai: Spots on the Sun,” June 24, 2008, article posted on the Web site of
Open Democracy
journal,
http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/dubai-the-dark-side
.

17.
Stuck Between America and Iran
 

1.
Tarik Yousef, dean, Dubai School of Government, author interview, January 11, 2009.

2.
Nasser Hashempour (deputy director, Iranian Business Council), author interview, November 23, 2008.

3.
The sources for this material are former U.S. government employees in the UAE who wish to remain anonymous.

4.
Schroen wrote a book about his exploits:
First In: An Insider’s Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
(New York: Presidia, 2005). Schroen was unable to be reached for comment.

5.
Various news accounts claimed that none other than Osama bin Laden visited Dubai’s American Hospital for treatment—as late as 2001—and that a subsequent CIA station chief in Dubai, Larry Mitchell, visited him there. The CIA vehemently denied the story as “sheer fantasy.”

6.
The director of the office, Ramin X. Asgard, did not agree to be interviewed.

7.
Afshin Molavi (Iran analyst, New America Foundation), author interview, November 23, 2008. Iranian government firms in Dubai were also mentioned by Abbas Bolurfrushan (Iranian Business Council), author interview, November 24, 2008.

8.
Most sanctions detail comes from Nasser Hashempour, author interview, November 23, 2008.

9.
Jim Krane and James Calderwood, “Official Warns Against Trade with Iran,” Associated Press, March 7, 2007.

10.
An American U-2 spy plane pilot, Maj. Duane Dively of the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, was killed on June 22, 2005, when his U-2 crashed on landing at Al-Dhafra Air Base. He was returning from a mission over Afghanistan.

11.
Mahmoud Habboush, “US Official Affirms Strength of Military Ties with Emirates,”
The National
, November 11, 2008.

18. The Meaning of Dubai
 

1.
“Banks Express Concerns About Dubai’s Property Market,” Economist Intelligence Unit, UAE Country Report, August 2008, 14.

2.
“GULF STATES:
Property Boom Carries Social Risks,” Oxford Analytica, May 30, 2008.

3.
This analysis comes from Robert Lee (Nakheel’s head of projects), author interview, September 21, 2008.

4.
Nasser Saidi, chief economist, Dubai International Financial Centre, speaking at The Economist’s World in 2009 conference, Mina A’Salaam Hotel, January 2009.

5.
Matthew Brown, “Dubai May Need Help from Abu Dhabi to Fund Borrowing,” Bloomberg, October 13, 2008,
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=av8CVL1H3T3U
.

6.
Sheikh Mohammed’s speech of November 7, 2008; full English translation is available at
http://www.weforum.org/pdf/GAC/speechen.pdf
.

7.
In 2005, London’s financial services industry contributed roughly $200 billion to Britain’s GDP, or roughly 9 percent of total GDP.

8.
Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index 2008, MasterCard Worldwide, 15
.

9.
George Katodrytis, “The Dubai Experiment: Accelerated Urbanism,”
Al Manakh: Dubai Guide
, 38–46.

10.
Excerpts, some paraphrased, from Fatih A. Rifki and Amer A. Moustafa, “Madinat Jumeirah and the Urban Experience in the Private City,”
Al Manakh: Dubai Guide
, 23–29.

11.
The UAE’s brand of diplomacy still means it stays nearly silent.

12.
Hafed al-Ghwell (Dubai School of Government), author interview, June 4, 2008.

13.
Al-Maktoum,
My Vision
.

Epilogue: Dubai, February 2009
 

1.
Estimates from “Country Report: United Arab Emirates,” Economist Intelligence Unit, December 2008, 6–8, and March 2009, 4.

2.
Ibid., March 2009, 4.

3.
Jefferies International, Wedge Alternatives, and Alternative Investment Strategies Management, as cited in “Jefferies Among 3 Companies Leaving Dubai’s DIFC,” Reuters, December 24, 2008.

4.
“UAE Economy Poised for Abrupt Slowdown Amid Job Cuts,” Reuters, December 14, 2008.

INDEX
 

 

Abdulla, Abdulkhaleq

Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Sheikh (foreign minister, UAE)

Abu Bakr (caliph), army of

Abu Dhabi (UAE)

arts and culture

Carlyle Group

Dubai

economy of

foreign affairs

petroleum

political organization

Sheikh Zayed

Abu Musa island

Acors, Vincent

acrophobia

Afghanistan

Africa.
See also
specific African countries

Agence France-Presse

Ahmad bin Ali al-Thani, Sheikh (ruler of Qatar)

Ahmadinejad, Mahmoud

Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, Sheikh (Emirates airline)

Ahmed (son of Sheik Rashid)

Airbus aircraft

air conditioning

aircraft landing rights, rentier state contracts

Air France

airlines.
See also
tourism; specific airlines

airport.

See also
specific airports

Ajman emirate (UAE)

Alabbar, Mohammed

Alani, Mustafa

Al Arabiya television network

Al Bakhit General Contracting camp

Al Bu Falah branch (Bani Yas tribe)

Al Bu Falasah branch (Bani Yas tribe)

Albuquerque, Alfonso de

alcoholic beverages, Dubai

Al-Fahidi Fort (Dubai)

Al-Futtaim family.
See also
specific family members

Al-Ghurair family.
See also
specific family members

Al Habtoor Group

Al-Nahyan family.
See also
specific family members and rulers

Alhambra

Ali, Hanif Hassan

Al Khaleej
(newspaper)

Al Maktoum Hospital

al-Qaida

Al-Qassimi family.
See also
specific family members

Al-Rostamani family.
See also
specific family members

Al Tayer Motors

aluminum smelter

Al-Yousuf family.
See also
specific family members

Amana Investments

American International Group (AIG)

American Jewish Committee (AJC)

Amman, Jordan

Anne (princess of England)

Anti-Defamation League

anti-immigration backlash

anti-Semitism

Antwerp, Belgium

The Apprentice
(TV show)

Arab expatriate community.
See also
expatriate communities; immigration; Western expatriate community Arabian empire

Arabian peninsula.
See also
Persian Gulf; Trucial States; specific Arabian countries

described

environmental issues

exploration of

Islam

Portugal

religion

slavery

trade

unemployment

United Kingdom

Arabian Sands
(Thesiger)

Arabic language

Arab League

Arab Strategy Forum

architecture, Dubai

Armani, Giorgio

armed forces

arms smuggling, UAE

arts, Dubai

Associated Press (AP)

Ataturk, Mustafa Kemal

Atkins engineering firm

Atlantis resort (Dubai)

Aubrey, David

Australia

authenticity, Dubai

automobile, traffic accidents

Az-Zari, Juma Khalaf Bilal

Badr, Muhammad al-(king of Yemen)

Bagatelas, Paul

Bah, Jamal al-

Bahrain

foreign affairs

petroleum

politics and government

religion

women’s status in

Balbi, Gasparo

Ballmer, Steve

Bandar Lengeh port (Iran)

Bangladesh, immigrants from

Bani Yas tribe

Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI)

banks, global credit crunch

See also
specific banks

Basra, Iraq, Ottoman Empire

Bastak, Iran

Bastakiya (Dubai neighborhood)

BBC networks

Beckham, David

Bedouin people.
See also
tribal life and tribalism

Dubai

Islam

persona of

politics

Sheikh Rashid

tribal life

Behnam, Maryam

Beirut, Lebanon

Belgium, diamonds

Better Homes reatly

bicycle lanes

Bin Demaithan, Hamda

Bin Laden, Osama

Bin Sulaiman, Omar

Bin Sulayem, Ahmed

Bin Sulayem, Sultan

Bin Thaniah, Jamal Majid

bird life

Blitzer, Wolf

BOAC

Boeing aircraft

Borse Dubai

Bosch, Hendrik

Bosworth, Freddie

Bout, Victor

Branson, Richard

British Airways

British Petroleum

Buraimi Oasis

Burj Al Arab (Tower of the Arabs, Dubai)

Burj Dubai

Busch Gardens (Palm Jebel Ali)

Bush, George H. W.

Bush, George W.

business model

Buti, Maktoum bin (ruler of Dubai, 1833–1852)

Butti bin Suhail al-Maktoum (ruler of Dubai, 1906–1912)

Calderwood, Jim

camel, tribal life

Canada

Carlyle Group

Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Carrefour

CBS television network

censorship

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA, U.S.)

Chapman, George

charities

Charlton, Mike

Cheney, Dick

Chew, Khuan

Chicago Beach Hotel (Dubai)

Chicago Bridge & Iron Company

China

Christianity

Christo

Citibank

citizenship

civil liberties

elections

financial subsidy

privileges of

UAE

Western expatriate community

City of Gold (Sonapur, Al Muhaisnah 2)

City of Hope (women’s shelter)

city planning

civil liberties, tribal life and tribalism

Clark, Wesley

Clarke, Richard

climate and climate change

Clinton, Hillary Rodham

Clinton, William Jefferson

clothing

CNN television network

CN Tower (Toronto, Ontario)

colonialism

concrete, skyscraper design

construction injuries

Construction Week
(magazine)

Córdoba, Spain.
See also Granada

corruption

credit card debt

credit crunch, Dubai

Credit Suisse

Crowe, Russell

Crundall, David

CSX Corporation

culture, Dubai

cultured pearls

currency speculation

Cyclone (Dubai brothel)

Damascus, Syria

dance club scene, Dubai

Dara
(passenger ship)

Davidson, Christopher

De Beers cartel

debt

decoupling theory

defense policy

Deloitte & Touche

democracy, UAE.
See also
elections

demography

Deng Xiaoping

De Niro, Robert

desalination

Deutsch, Karl

Deutsche Bank

Deyaar developers

Dhahiri, Mohammed Nukheira al-

diamonds, Israel

Dibba (port city, UAE)

DiCaprio, Leonardo

dirham, revaluation of

Djibouti

Doha, Qatar

Dow Jones

Doyle, Joseph

Doyle, William

DP World shipping firms

recession

United States

Zim Integrated Shipping Services and

drinking water

drug smuggling

dry docks

Dubai
(Moore)

Dubai (UAE).
See also
United Arab Emirates (UAE); individual emirates

Abu Dhabi and

airline

anti-immigration backlash

architecture

army

arts and culture

authenticity

bureaucracy

business organization

citizenship privileges

city planning

climate of

corruption

credit crunch

debt of

democracy

demography

descriptions of

diamonds

education

electrification

environmental issues

espionage

financial capital

free trade zones

future prospects

governance and political organization

growth of

health care system

historical perspective

Indian immigrants to

innovations of

intellectual life

investment in

Iran

Iran-Iraq war (1980–1988)

Iraq

Islamic fundamentalism

Israel

labor force in

Maktoum family

nationalism

national security

petroleum

port construction

prostitution and sex trafficking

real estate

recession

reform movement in

rentier state

Sharjah and

slavery

smuggling

social freedoms

social stratification

stock markets

street grid

taxation

technology

terrorism

tolerance

tourism

trade

transportation

United Arab Emirates

United Kingdom

United States

women’s status in

Dubai Aluminum

Dubai Comprehensive Plan

Dubai Defense Force

Dubai Dry Docks

Dubai Executive Council

Dubai Executive Office

Dubai FAQs (Web site)

Dubai Holding

Dubai International Capital

Dubai International Financial Centre

Dubai International Hotel

Dubailand

Dubai Mall

Dubai Marina

Dubai National Air Travel Agency (DNATA)

Dubai Ports World.
See
DP World Dubai School of Government

Dubai World

Duff, Bill

earthquakes

East India Company

Economist Intelligence Unit

education.
See also
universities citizenship privileges

Dubai

UAE

Egypt

Eigner, Saeb

elections.
See also
democracy

electrification

environmental issues

shortages

Elizabeth II (queen of England)

Eller & Company

Emaar Properties

Emirates airlines

Emirates Towers

Empty Quarter (Rub al-Khali)

emulation, Dubai

energy consumption

entrepreneurship

environmental issues

espionage, UAE

Essa, Fatma

ETA Ascon Group

Etihad Airways

European Union (EU)

Even-Zohar, Chaim

expatriate communities.
See also
Arab expatriate community; immigration; Western expatriate community

anti-immigration backlash

balancing of

elections

recession

Faisal II (king of Iraq)

famine

Farsi language

Fayad, Rabih

Federal National Council

financial capital, Dubai as

Financial Times
(newspaper)

Fischer, Stanley

Flanagan, Maurice

FlyerTalk (online discussion group)

Forbes
magazine

foreign investment

Fowle, T. C.

France

Freedom House

free speech, Dubai

free trade zones

Fujairah emirate (UAE)

Al-Futtaim family.
See also
specific family members

Galadari, Essam

Gama, Vasco da

Gandhi, Indira

Garfield, James

Gargash, Anwar

gasoline prices

Gates, Bill

Gehry, Frank

General Electric (GE)

General Motors (GM)

Gergawi, Mohammed al-

Ghaddafi, Muammar

Ghurair, Abdul Aziz al-

Ghurair, Saif al-

Al-Ghurair family.
See also
specific family members

Ghurair Group

Ghussein, Mohammed al-

Ghwell, Hafed al-

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