Where is the Middle East?

In researching a policy memo about the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI/GMEI), I have been thinking a lot about how one geographically defines the Middle East in relation to different policies. The GMEI is one of the most notable US policies towards the region in the past two years and defines the Greater Middle East as bordered by Morocco in the west and Pakistan in the East. Obviously the UAE falls in this geographic designation yet many of the MEPI/GMEI programs around democracy seem at odds with some of the government structures that have allowed the UAE to be so successful from an economic development point of view. The question becomes about how one policy can encompass such a large geographic area and remain sensitive to the development nuances of individual countries within the region. Does anyone have examples of how the MEPI/GMEI has adapted itself to UAE-specific programs?