Long before oil money, Dubai and Abu Dhabi were wealthy smuggling ports, with close ties to the ports of what's now Pakistan.
The player behind Dubai Ports World, UAE President and Emir of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, is the son of the guy behind Bank of Commrce and Credit International, which expedited the heroin shipments, and return money flows of the US first Afghan War in the '80s. the Kerry Committee BCCI report issued in 1992.
From Section 14 of the report
Abu Dhabi was present at BCCI's creation as one of two providers of BCCI's capital. It was BCCI's largest depositor, and its largest borrower, and for most of BCCI's existence, its largest shareholder. The relationship between the two entities was, as Price Waterhouse told the Bank of England days before BCCI's closure, "very close," with BCCI providing services to the ruling family of Abu Dhabi far beyond the ordinary relationship of a bank to either its shareholders or depositors...
As Abu Dhabi's representative, Ahmed Al Sayegh, testified, "in excess of $2 billion was entrusted to Abedi and Naqvi for investment by Their Highnesses Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Khalifa under a power of attorney between 1980 and 1990."(32) Al Sayegh did not identify how much in excess of $2 billion was entrusted to BCCI, but given Abu Dhabi's testimony that it lost $6 billion in all in BCCI's collapse, the amount must have been considerable.
It's never been about Holy War for the Emirates. Piety has always been a way to keep the heat off from the poor of the Arab world, while the priority has been business.
(Sure, I always figure it's about dope, but how often have I turned out to be wrong? $100 billion a year in hidden flows pops out everywhere.)