MIDDLE EAST
The placid, Lilliputian Persian Gulf sheikdom of Sharjah was unexpectedly disturbed last week by the thud of hand grenades and the rattle of rifle fire. Former Sheik Saqr bin Sultan, deposed in 1965 in a peaceful coup, had returned from exile in Cairo. With two truckloads of Bedouins, he stormed Sharjah's blue-and-white palace in an attempt to overthrow his ruling cousin Sheik Khalid bin Mohammed. In a brief battle with tribesmen loyal to Khalid, Saqr was captured. But Sheik Khalid was trapped and murdered before he could be rescued.
A few years ago that kind of tribal fighting—presuming that the watchful British Political Resident in the gulf would have allowed it to take place—would scarcely have been noticed. Today, though, the lands bordering the Persian Gulf have a strategic importance to both East and West. Collectively, the Trucial States* and their neighbors on the gulf have a petroleum reserve of at least 345 billion bbls.—56% of the world's proven oil supply. Moreover, the power vacuum created in December when Britain pulled out the last of its political officers and military forces from the Trucial States has yet to be filled.
When the British withdrew from the gulf in December, the sheiks created the Union of Arab Emirates (see map), which is somewhat less of a nation than a collection of traditionally suspicious and unequal tribes. Linked only by language (Arabic) and faith (Islam), the six founding members differ vastly in size and population as well as in wealth. Abu Dhabi (pop. 100,000) and Dubai (70,000), for instance, sit on top of enormous pooh of oil; nearby Fujeira (10,000) and Umm al Qaiwain (4,500) have none. Dubai, moreover, has the states' principal port; from there, smugglers have long done a lucrative business in carrying gold, perfumes and Swiss watches to India. Sharjah (pop. 38,000) is so poor that its chief source of income (about $257,000 a year) used to be selling fresh water to the British garrison. Ajman (pop. 4,000), with no oil and only a primitive fishing industry, survives primarily by selling stamps to philatelists of the world, who are charmed by Arab postage bearing the images of the Kennedy brothers, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth.
Britain's decision to withdraw from the gulf was an unsettling blow to the Trucial States. One robed sheik explained why to TIME Correspondent Gavin Scott as they sat sipping Evian water in an Abu Dhabi hotel lobby. "We have a saying here that my next-door neighbor is my enemy, but the man from afar is my friend." So anxious was oil-rich Abu Dhabi to maintain a referee and peacekeeper in the area that it. quietly proposed to help cover British costs with a $60 million subsidy. When London demurred, the neighboring sheiks—who are all absolute monarchs—reluctantly began for the first time to negotiate with one another on a political union. After 18 months of discussion, the Union of Arab Emirates was formed, with Abu Dhabi's Sheik Zayed bin Sultan as the first president.