Yousef Al Otaiba

At age 26, Otaiba became senior adviser to Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and, until his new posting, as director of international affairs for the court of the crown prince, he also served as the country's principal security, anti-terrorism and defence liaison with other governments. Bin Zayed was deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, so in effect Otaiba worked for the UAE's defense minister for eight years.[5]

In 2006 and 2007 Otaiba's role was described by Kristofer Harrison, a Defense and State Department advisor during the George W. Bush administration who worked closely with Otaiba, as "crucial helping to talk other countries in the region into backing President George W. Bush's troop surge in the Iraq War" - a role that was confirmed by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr.[1] Otaiba's most significant contribution was "persuading other Gulfies to support the political components of the surge (e.g. the Anbar Awakening), and helping 'translate' the general strategy into something they would support".[1]

On 22 June 2008 Otaiba was elevated to UAE ambassador to the United States.[6] He succeeded Saqr Ghobash, who had served as ambassador since March 2006.[5] Upon his arriving in the capital, Otaiba hired Amy Little-Thomas, a former State Department staffer in the Bush administration, who became the UAE embassy's chief of protocol and created the nonprofit Oasis Foundation, his private foundation in connection with his work as ambassador "to advance positive relations between the UAE, a significant American ally (particularly in the Middle East), and the United States.” In 2016, a court ordered one of Oasis Foundation's board members to pay restitution for funds taken from the charity for personal expenditures - funds originally deposited and subsequently replenished by Otaiba.[7] Otaiba worked closely with Howard Berman, then the Democratic chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on an agreement that would allow the UAE to obtain nuclear materials from the US for a civilian program.[1]

In July 2010, remarks made by Otaiba were interpreted as supporting a United States military strike on nuclear reactors in Iran.[8] Otaiba's remarks were reported to have been the standard position of many Arab states.[9]

From 2015 onwards Otaiba was a leading voice in Washington for the War in Yemen, where the UAE operated torture warehouses[10] and funded death squads.[11] The conflict has left more than 10,000 dead, millions starving (Famine in Yemen) and a cholera epidemic of historic proportions.[12] Otaiba yelled at Representative Ro Khanna over his efforts to end US involvement in the Yemeni Civil War.[13]

In the run-up to President Trump's Riyadh Summit with Islamic leaders on 20–21 May 2017 strong bonds reportedly formed between Otaiba and President Trump's advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and minister of defense Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia.[14] Otaiba and Kushner first met June 2017 at the behest of Thomas Barrack, a billionaire investor and Trump backer.

Otaiba is generally seen as being a successful ambassador for the UAE, as the country asserts itself more aggressively in the sphere of foreign policy.[15] In November 2017 it was announced that he had been promoted to the rank of Minister, while remaining the ambassador to the United States.[16]

Otaiba (left) speaks to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in 2022

On 12 June 2020, Otaiba authored an op-ed in an effort to halt Israel's planned annexation of West Bank territory.[17] Otaiba's op-ed was addressed to the Israeli public and published on the front page of the Yedioth Ahronoth.[18] It was the first ever written by a Gulf diplomat and published in an Israeli newspaper.[18] Prior to publication, Otaiba solicited the advice of Israeli-American Businessman, Haim Saban, on when and where to place the op-ed and was advised that the op-ed ought to be translated to Hebrew.[19] In the op-ed, Otaiba expressed enthusiasm for stronger ties between Israel and UAE, touting the benefits of accelerated economic growth and stability throughout the Middle East in addition to security but said that Israeli plans for annexation and talk of normalization were a contradiction.[18][17] He elaborated that annexation and seizure of Palestinian land would defy the “international consensus on the Palestinian right to self-determination”, warning that such a plan would “ignite violence and rouse extremists”.[18] On 2 July 2020, Otaiba met with Avi Berkowitz to further discuss a plan to prevent annexation.[19] Along with a mutual interest in creating a unified front against the opposing forces of Iran, the concerns detailed in Otaiba's op-ed and planning with Berkowitz helped bring vested parties to the negotiating table to identify a better solution,[19] ultimately resulting in a normalization agreement reached in August 2020[20] and officially committed to in September 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House.[21] The deal was brokered by the United States.[22] Both Saban and Al Otaiba credited U.S. leadership for helping to manage the negotiation process and deliver on the agreements.[19] “I think the United States government came through every single time,” Al Otaiba said. “And that's the reason we had the signing ceremony two weeks ago at the White House.”[19] Otaiba also recognized Berkowitz, Jared Kushner and Brig. Gen. Miguel Correa for their efforts,[19] whereas Correa became involved after playing a part in a 2017 U.S. coordinated rescue operation in Yemen that brought UAE soldiers and a member of the royal family to safety after their helicopter crashed.[23] Otaiba said he spoke to them more than anyone else in the weeks leading up to the agreement and if it wasn't for them the deal probably wouldn't have been done - noting the amount of trust required.[19] The 2020 deal marked the first time anyone had normalized ties with Israel since Jordan in 1994,[21] opening the doors for others to follow suit.[21][24][25][22] In August 2020, Otaiba issued a statement extolling the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement as "a win for diplomacy and for the region",[26] adding how it "lowers tensions and creates new energy for positive change".[27]