Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates- The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, the U.S.-U.A.E. Business Council, and the American Business Group of Abu Dhabi hosted former Secretary of Defense William Cohen, Chairman and CEO of The Cohen Group in Abu Dhabi for a briefing on the outlook for U.S. elections, America’s role in the region, and U.S.-U.A.E. relations.  The event forged closer ties between the sponsoring organizations which are increasing their coordination.

Secretary Cohen explained the strategic importance of the U.A.E. to U.S. strategy in the region.  The U.A.E. is a producer of security in the Gulf. U.S. homeland security is tied to the U.A.E.’s role in the region. There are forward-deployed American customs agents at Dubai-based ports inspecting U.S.-bound cargo traffic.  More naval vessels – over 600 in 2006 – visit U.A.E. ports than any other port outside the U.S. and the country stands out as America’s largest export market in the Arab world.

Moving to the larger U.S. role in the region, the former Secretary said Washington was an important force for maintaining peace in the Gulf and should act to regain that position. The U.S. should try to prevent international conflict “not out of the charity of our hearts but out of our interest”, since economic growth benefits everyone.

America, he argued, has seen a diminution of its image and influence abroad. The Iraq war has “been an element for great instability, and that is something that everyone in the region is worried about.”

The next Administration, he told the audience, would reach out to the region with a much more engaging attitude yet some aspects of foreign policy would stay the same.  Mr. Cohen predicted that both presidential candidates would have to pursue more or less the same policy in Iraq, despite their claims to differ on the matter.  “You have to look beneath the rhetoric,” he said, explaining that either candidate would have to keep troops in Iraq for some time to maintain regional security.