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What about the Ports
I had some fun at Jimmy Carter's expense over the port management issue, but now I feel it's time to start a round up of what I know.
Most issues are fairly easy to comprehend. There is some underlying principle that guides to the correct understanding. The twists and shadows of foreign police can obscure the principles because there is often incomplete or unavailable details. This is when I rely on the actions of politicians to decipher the truth. Not that I think politicians have an excess of virtue by which they gain access to the truth. No way, but they do have more information than most people on these kinds of issues, and they tend to demagogue them in a consistent manner. It's a matter of seeing how the usual suspects line up to get a picture of what might be going on behind the scene.
The ports issue has confounded this method because the adherents and dissidents are all mixed together from their usual ranks. Bush and Carter agreeing and Limbaugh and Hannity on opposite sides are the most stark examples. All the jabbering has been productive. There is now some useful information coming to light. The UAE as all the Arab states seems to have been paying off the terrorist elements in hopes that they would be spared while they pursued a coarse of modernizing. Saudi Arabia was notorious for that very duplicitous action.
The unfolding situation since 9-11 has demonstrated that this coarse could not continue to yield results. Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Saudi have all suffered a resurgence of fundamentalism or even attack from the Islamists. They are beginning to recognize that hope now rests with the west, that the squandering of resources and lack of economic development are going to be their doom. Can they succeed? They must if that is their intent and if they are to survive.
Choosing up sides will be tricky because the Moslem world is now engaged in settling the Sunni Shiite question. It won't be cordial. WW III started when the Iranians took our embassy November 4, 1979. There are several contenders for immortality there can only be one.
posted by Xyba | 4:18 PM
3 Comments:
|Well *if* ther Federal Govt were acting in a demonstrably responsible manner concerning Homeland Security (and by the way just let me say for the record I cringe every time the word "homeland" is used) then I wouldnt really care where the profits went.
Free trade cuts both ways and given our balance of trade we're bound to bleed dollars sooner or later. Foreign ownership of US assets and operations are simply a fact of life as capital moves around the globe. OK, great.
In my opinion the Federal Government has been cavalier and irresponsible in their approach to our security. Given that, I have no confidence in their review processes. In fact did you know that one of the key components of the the port deal is that the Dubai company will *not* be required to keep their business records in the United State - specifically so that they cannot be subpeaned by a US court for examination? Swell.
Who loves ya baby?
I understand the concerns people have... if they aren't familiar with the way the ports work, and what this company would be doing. Or if they have political points to score. But this deal would not endanger our ports.
If you do not have a copy of the Economist handy, I would love to share with you their take. If you are interested, email me at wulf@atlasblogged.com and I will send the article your way.
Tommy Franks was on Tony Snow's radio show yesterday, and he made it pretty clear that while it is true that UAE was one of the few countries which recognized the Taliban, they also were the most helpful to the US with intel on the Taliban after we invaded Afghanistan.
Bottom line is that UAE is our best ally among Arab nations, and if we refuse to do business with them, we refuse to do business with any Arab, and that will only hurt our efforts to modernize and democratize the region.
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