The United Arab Emirates today is one of the safest countries in the world and is acknowledged as a leading Arab military force with considerable recent combat experience. These are amazing achievements given that the Emirates’ first military and police forces were established only in 1951 and 1956 respectively. These forces were established when the Emirates were known as the Trucial States, during which time they were a British protected state. In 1971, Britain withdrew its protection and the seven Trucial States’ Emirates federated to form the UAE. Before 1971, three Emirates had formed militaries while the British controlled another. After federation, two more Emirates formed militaries with the former British-controlled military becoming the first federally-controlled force. The six militaries were unified in 1976 to create the UAE Armed Forces. The two largest Emirates had established police forces in the 1950s, and the others had all established them by the late 1960s. During the 1970s, police forces of the individual Emirates were increasingly federalised under the newly-established Ministry of Interior, although to a lesser degree than the militaries. Several Emirates during the late 1970s were able to exercise considerably control over the two types of forces in their territory.