Page 360 - UAE Truncal States

The External Influences
building up incredibly fasl in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Securily,
communications, and social services were improving every month,
and the general economic boom was itself enough to promote the
constant upgrading of the infrastructure.
There was no longer the obvious need for the “social conscience
approach" which the British officials and Government had adopted
in the 1950s. Once it had been recognised that Britain ought to do
something to improve the quality of life of the population in the
Trucial Slates, it was not too long before action was taken because
the task of organising health services, education, communication,
security, had been performed many times over by British officials
under similar conditions. The biggest problem in post-war Britain
was lack of funds.
There was, however, no such common consent about the extent of
British responsibility for the political future of the Trucial States. Not
many British politicians ever questioned during the 1960s whether
the chance of history which had made this distant coast an appendix
to the British Empire should remain the basis of its political
existence. While some might have wished that these small shaikh-
doms had long ago become integral parts of one of the big political
units in the neighbourhood, others envisaged the continuation of
political tutelage together with humanitarian assistance as a boun-
den duty of Great Britain for many years to come.
In the event it did not make much difference what approach those
officials took. The fate of these small shaikhdoms was decided by
developments which were completely outside their scope, namely the
reappraisal of Britain’s role in the world and in the western defence
system. Britain was withdrawing from its commitments East of Suez.

335