"Mrs. Clinton’s criticism of the military
intervention in a Paris television interview angered officials of the
United Arab Emirates, whose military was also involved in the Bahrain
operation and who shared the Saudis’ concern about the Mubarak episode. The Emiratis promptly threatened to withdraw from the coalition then
being assembled to support a NATO-led strike against Col. Muammar
el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader. The Emiratis knew they were needed to
give the coalition legitimacy. They quickly named their price for
staying on board, according to Arab and Western diplomats familiar with
the episode: Mrs. Clinton must issue a statement that would pull back
from any criticism of the Bahrain operation. The statement, hastily drafted and vetted by Emirati and American
officials, appeared soon afterward, in the guise of a communiqué on Libya."