Hillary Clinton, a leading opponent of Dubai's takeover of some US port operations, this week admitted she did not know her husband Bill had advised Dubai leaders on how to handle the controversy.
But Mr Clinton's ties to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates should not have come as a surprise to the New York senator, who has argued that the sale of port operations to a UAE-controlled company represented an "unacceptable risk" to national security.
Mrs Clinton's financial disclosure forms reveal that her husband earned Dollars 450,000 (Euros 377,000, Pounds 257,000) giving speeches in Dubai in 2002. Officials from the UAE also reportedly donated between Dollars 500,000 and Dollars 1m to fund Mr Clinton's presidential library in Arkansas - part of an effort by the emirates to forge a close relationship with the former US president.
Mr Clinton's admiration for the UAE was last on display in November, when the former president made his fourth visit to the American University in Dubai and met students who had benefited from the Clinton scholarship programme. The UAE has also contributed to an issue close to both the Clinton and Bush families, having donated Dollars 100m to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
Mrs Clinton's tough stance has caused UAE officials consternation. The woman regarded as the leading Democratic candidate for the 2008 presidential elections has used the transaction - which polls show is unpopular with many Americans - to attack the Bush administration on an issue that is considered a weak point for Democrats: national security.
Although Mrs Clinton has been careful not to criticise the UAE directly, her stance has put her in the samecamp as legislators who openly accuse Dubai of helping to finance the September 11 terrorist attacks and deem the UAE to be untrustworthy.
Privately, some Democrats see revelations about Mr Clinton's ties to the UAE as a classic Clinton dilemma. Although both Hillary and Bill Clinton say the former president stands behindhis wife on the issue,his relationship to theUAE has complicated her  position.
The UAE has sought to quell concerns by hiring former Clinton officials and other Democrats to lobby on Dubai's behalf.
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org>