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This oil-rich Persian Gulf state has outfitted high-rises with the latest security, installed an iris-recognition ID system and nearly completed a 500-mile-long barrier along its borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia.

With such efforts, the United Arab Emirates has created one of the world’s most comprehensive homeland security and anti-terrorism systems. That has kept Dubai — the jewel in the nation’s crown and a stop on President Bush’s Mideast trip — free from the Islamic extremist attacks that have plagued other countries in the region.

Al-Qaida’s American spokesman, Adam Gadahn, urged the group’s fighters in a weekend videotape to attack Bush with “bombs and booby-trapped vehicles” during his Mideast tour. The FBI said it was scrutinizing the tape for any information that might signal a specific threat or shed light on al-Qaida planning.

Countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt — all on the itinerary of the presidential tour that begins Wednesday — have fought back hard against the terror threat in recent years, rounding up militants and tightening security. Yet only the UAE, and some less prominent countries like Oman, have largely escaped threats or attacks.

However, many anti-terror analysts believe the threat in Dubai is growing — fueled by the city’s image as a bastion of Western-style capitalism and nightlife, its new status as home to the world’s tallest building and the frequent port calls by U.S. Navy ships. Alcohol flows freely in its many hotel bars, and bikini-clad Western tourists soak up the sun on its beaches.

“There are all kinds of radical actors out there who view Dubai as a symbol of Western debauchery in the Middle East,” said Matthew Levitt, a former Treasury Department terrorism expert who is now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

In a video marking the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack on the United States, Osama bin Laden lambasted capitalism and multinational corporations, calling their leaders the real terrorists and threats to human freedom. The al-Qaida leader did not mention Dubai by name, but nowhere in the Middle East are the targets of his ire flourishing with such intensity.

Some anti-terrorism analysts argue that established extremist groups like al-Qaida have their hands full with higher priority operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. But others point to the potential threat from “self-starter” terrorists, like those who attacked Madrid and London, who take guidance from leaders like bin Laden but are not reliant on them for support.

“The growth and disorganization of the jihadist movement means that the threat level in Dubai will go up over time,” said Daniel Benjamin, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Dubai’s government rarely speaks publicly of its efforts to counter extremists, apparently worried about endangering its image as the Mideast’s business hub by associating the city with terrorism. It did not respond to numerous inquiries by The Associated Press for this article.

Tourism is booming, indicating most tourists find the risk low.

Ibrahim al-Aktar, a Saudi who comes to Dubai for work, expressed confidence in the government’s efforts.

“They have a good security system here,” al-Aktar said while shopping in an enormous mall. “It would be difficult to bomb Dubai — at least, I hope it would be.”

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