Newly discovered British documents indicate that Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, doubted the U.S. commitment to protect its Arab allies amid popular uprisings, expressing these concerns to British MP Julian Amery in 1986. During a meeting, Zayed and his Chief of Staff highlighted the U.S. administration’s failure to secure arms sales for friendly Arab nations as a sign of impotence, questioning America’s reliability as an ally. They referenced historical instances of U.S. abandonment of allies, leading them to wonder about the value of maintaining friendships with the U.S.
