New evidence has emerged that key agencies of the United Arab Emirates may have been infiltrated by al-Qaeda. In May or June of 2002, al Qaeda officials wrote a letter to the UAE government claiming the emirates were “well aware” of the infiltration.
The letter, translated by the United States Government, is publicly available on the website of the West Point Combating Terrorism Center. The intro:
The key sentence:
During the initial 30-day review, the Coast Guard raised concerns that Dubai Ports World, which is owned by the UAE, could be infiltrated. An unclassified Coast Guard document cautioned, “There are many intelligence gaps, concerning the potential for DPW or P&O; assets to support terrorist operations, that precludes an overall threat assessment”
The existence of the al-Qaeda letter — known officially as AFGP-2002–603856 — was first reported in a little noticed column by Scripps Howard.