I don't know, but I find that expediency is usually a very real concern in such operations so it seems plausible for the UAE to cut corners and route traffic in

I don't know, but I find that expediency is usually a very real concern in such operations so it seems plausible for the UAE to cut corners and route traffic in a convenient (though not covert) manner. Moreover, they may wish to route traffic through nodes they control. I understand your point, but then again, I don't see why a botnet would route it's traffic through the UAE either.