Intelligence Hub

Dubai is known for being a regional hub for business but not for intelligence gathering. The New York Times reports today about US State Department efforts to establish intelligence gathering operations about Iran in Dubai. The proximity to Iran and large Iranian population in Dubai are cited as motivations for establishing this effort here. I tend to wonder if the 200,000 Iranians living here are necessarily an accurate cross-section of the overall Iranian population? Maybe a bit like setting up a similar effort in an Iranian community in Los Angeles? Definitely a sign of progress though, and hopefully this development is one of many towards constructive dialogue.