Posted on 02/21/2006 12:32:20 PM PST by Brian Mosely
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (AP) — President Bush says the deal allowing an Arab company to take over six major U.S. seaports should go forward and he will veto any bill that would stop it.
Nice to see that most FReepers are still seeing clearly. Good post.
I thought he was gonna pee his panties when he was down there. Talk about drama queen....
"Dubai is also one of the region's most open banking centers and is the commercial capital of the United Arab Emirates, one of three countries that maintained diplomatic relations with the Taliban until shortly after Sept. 11. Sitting at a strategic crossroad of the Gulf, South Asia and Africa, Dubai has long been a financial hub for Islamic militant groups. Much of the $500,000 used to fund the Sept. 11 attacks came through Dubai, investigators believe."
You're just being obtuse now. Does the state department list London as a high risk terrorist city? I am amazed at the lengths the Bushbots will go to cover their eyes and ears to anything that shake their belief in the deity of GWB.
Savage said today it's like the good kid hanging out with the bad kid in school. For some reason, the good kid never seems to rub off on the bad one to make him a better person; instead, it's vice versa.
It's really sad seeing people destroy their credibility over something this blatantly obvious.
So, now it's personal. You can't back up your claims, so I'm drunk and stupid.
We used to be able to respectfully disagree, but now you want to get into the gutter. I thought you were a better man than that, but now I know better.
If left-wing politically correct posturing is the best you can do, it's time to consider that maybe you don't have a case. Lobbing charges of racism at anyone that is uncomfortable with having the UAE in charge of the ports is probably beneath you.
Tom, you're the biggest phony on this board. You whore yourself out to anybody who'll pick up your bar tab, and you have the nerve to accuse somebody who supports the president because Bush is one of the few who apparently knows what he's talking about of breaking up a coalition?
What were you doing in promoting the "coalition" when you were supporting Mr. Reparations himself, Alan Keyes, for Senate in Illinois?
There IS no difference between extremists here and the DU.
So apparently some of Osama's former falcon hunting buddies will be taking over the management of some of our major ports.
Excerpt of Philip Zelikow's statement in front of the 9/11 Commission:
The Desert Camp, February 1999. During the winter of 1998-99, intelligence reported that Bin Ladin frequently visited a camp in the desert, adjacent to a larger hunting camp in Helmand Province of Afghanistan, used by visitors from a Gulf state. Public sources have stated that these visitors were from the United Arab Emirates. At the beginning of February, Bin Ladin was reportedly located there, and apparently remained for more than a week. This was not in an urban area, so the risk of collateral damage was minimal. Intelligence provided a detailed description of the camps. National technical intelligence confirmed the description of the larger camp, and showed the nearby presence of an official aircraft of the UAE. The CIA received reports that Bin Ladin regularly went from his adjacent camp to the larger camp where he visited with Emiratis. The location of this larger camp was confirmed by February 9, but the location of Bin Ladin's quarters could not be pinned down so precisely.
Preparations were made for a possible strike, against the larger camp, perhaps to target Bin Ladin during one of his visits. No strike was launched.
According to CIA officials, policymakers were concerned about the danger that a strike might kill an Emirati prince or other senior officials who might be with Bin Ladin or close by. The lead CIA official in the field felt the intelligence reporting in this case was very reliable. The UBL unit chief at the time agrees. The field official believes today that this was a lost opportunity to kill Bin Ladin before 9/11.
Clarke told us the strike was called off because the intelligence was dubious, and it seemed to him as if the CIA was presenting an option to attack America's best counterterrorism ally in the Gulf. Documentary evidence at the time shows that on February 10th Clarke detailed to Deputy National Security Advisor Donald Kerrick the intelligence placing UBL in the camp, informed him that DOD might be in a position to fire the next morning, and added that General Shelton was looking at other options that might be ready the following week. Clarke had just returned from a visit to the UAE, working on counterterrorism cooperation and following up on a May 1998 UAE agreement to buy F-16 aircraft from the United States.
On February 10th, Clarke reported that a top UAE official had vehemently denied that high-level UAE officials were in Afghanistan. Evidence subsequently confirmed that high-level UAE officials had been there.
By February 12th, Bin Ladin had apparently moved on and the immediate strike plans became moot.
In March, the entire camp complex was hurriedly disassembled. We are still examining several aspects of this episode.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/ame/911/911tr/032304.htm
Steve Coll's 'Ghost Wars' also addresses these hunting parties from the UAE which were rumored to have been attended be UAE officials from the very top.
I think one reason this has become such a lightning rod issue is because most Americans don't trust Muslims, period. HELLO, GEORGE, WE DON'T TRUST THEM!! The President repeatedly referring to Islam as a "religion of peace" doesn't help matters, either. That is right out of the CAIR Play book, and we don't like that either...
I also believe a lot of the current explosive passion stems from Bush's inability/unwillingness to do much concrete about effectively closing our borders while allowing millions of illegal aliens to pour in, then not pro-actively trying to get them back out - all the while proposing "guest worker" plans, which is really amnesty dressed up in a tight skirt sprinkled with cheap perfume.
Americans - even his supporters (and I am one) - are really pissed about what is going on. We have just about had it up to *here* with our leaders sucking up to the rest of the world and giving away the (our) store all while the world continues to laugh up it's sleeve at us and screw us in every imaginable way.
The Harriet Myers Debacle should have clued this Administration that all as not well with the restless natives here in River City and we aren't happy with a lot of the direction things are going. This is jut one more long, painful nail in what we feel is a tighter domestic coffin. We pay our taxes, we try to support the best politicians we can - and we seem to get continually stiffed politicians, including Bush, who is either stone cold deaf or has the tinniest ear in Washington.
It's bad enough a huge part of this country is already hopelessly Liberal and doing everything it can to deep six our efforts. We have to fight on numerous fronts just to hold the country and our Constitution barely together against tall the enemies, foreign and domestic. Now, this shows up on our plate and Bush threatens to veto it? Who is he kidding? Where was he when McCain-Feingold and the Bridge To Nowhere and a hundred other outrages showed up on his desk and he looked the other way, and now this is the hill he has decided to die on??
Give me a break....
Maybe he is some kind of queen...........
Tell us just one thing...one thing that President Bush has let us down in terms of national security. And don't say close the borders because that's not reality.
President Cush has earned our trust regarding the economy and regarding keeping us free of attack since 9-11.
Why would he suddenly put us in more jeopardy? It's not him.
Did Zogby really say that? Do you have a link? Thanks!
UAE has a secular government. That's why it's been so successful.
So, you just hate Muslims, right? No matter what color they are.
Is religious bigotry more justifiable than racial bigotry?
This is an outright, unadulterated LIE.
They did no such thing. The State Department spokesman talked about how we have shed our BLOOD for the free press, and defended the right to print those cartoons.
Do not lie on this forum, no matter how out of control your emotions are.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.