[standingfirm]

Is is just me, or does something really smell about this UAE deal? Something inside me just wants to scream, "THIS IS WRONG." The US should monitor her own ports!!! Not some foreign company with a very questionable past.

For the life of me, I can't understand why the White House is in favor of this deal. You can't trust these people, I don't care how pretty they have talked to us about stopping terrorism. Don't we know by now that they talk out of both sides of their mouth?

Somone wake me up when it's over. It has to be a nightmare.

[Blue Turtle]

...winning the war on terror.

[MineralMan]

Someone will be along shortly to tell you that you are a liberal, aligned with the Democrats. Thank you for your patience.

[Dane]

Is is just me, or does something really smell about this UAE deal? Something inside me just wants to scream, "THIS IS WRONG." The US should monitor her own ports!!! Not some foreign company with a very questionable past

Huh there was no outrage when a foreign firm was already operating port container facilites at US ports.

BTW, notice how FOX News doesn't disclose they are partially owned by a saudi prince.

[tomahawk]

Even if it would be safe for the UAE company to handle port security, it looks absolutely TERRIBLE and undercuts the argument (PR-wise) that Republicans are the national security party.

I continue to be disappointed by the way this war is being fought.

If Iran is not handled soon, the war will be a failure.

[MNJohnnie]

What stinks here is the hysteria and ignorance of "Conservatives" who should know better then to fall for a Democrat directed Press smear job.

Here is what the Port story is about. A DNC press release was sent out by Chucky Schumer for the Democrat Senate Election Committee. It is full of rumor, innuendo and guilt by association. A bunch of junk journalists picked up the story and with out checking a SINGLE fact printed the story. A bunch of meat head grandstanding Republicans Congress Critters on Kneepads, read the story and freaked out WITHOUT bothering to find out a single fact. The Security Agencies, who did all the investigation and background checks were blown off or sneered at by the Democrats, their junk journalists propagandists and Republican Congress critter Media whores. Meanwhile the FACTS of the case are being ignored in order for everyone to gleefully parrot a DEMOCRAT Press release.

HERE is the logical diagram on this story. A company based in UAE is taking over port operations. UAE is an Arab Country. Arabs committed 9-11. Bush is turning Port Security over to the Terrorists! Not ONE fact or logically valid assumption is presented in any of these stories. The fact that the Port Operation company has NO security functions is either willfully or inadvertently left OUT of the story. Instead it is all basically a racist, guilty by accusation and rumor smear job. The people who ACTUALLY know the facts like DHS etc are being laughed at or ignored so supposedly "Conservatives" can gleefully push Democrat Election Campaign propaganda. Simply amazing how willfully ignorant some "Conservatives" are about how the Junk Journalists lie to them. Just like Flush the Koran, Rather Gate, Fitzmus, Downing Street Memo and dozens and dozens of other LIES manufactured by the DNC and fed to the Failed Media, THIS story is a LIE.

[BigSkyFreeper]

The US should monitor her own ports!!!

Isn't that what DHS is for?

[Lexington Green]

Has Bush gone insane?

[muskah]

Hope the other bidder was Haliburton. Let congress decide between Haliburton and the UAE company!!

If this is like most contracts the gov retains veto over key positions and can run security checks on all employees, most would be Americans and Longshoremen. It still is a bad idea, but being totally misrepresented by MSM. Surprise Surprise.

[scooter2]

You're not then only one who feels something is wrong with this deal. While I normally support the Bush administration's decisions, this one just seems to be WRONG. To let a foriegn power be in charge of any of our ports is a bad thing to do.

[Dewy]

PING

[Lexington Green]

Chertoff has just squandered his credibility.

[Cringing Negativism Network]

Has anyone dares speak the M-word in all of this?

UAE is a Muslim country.

Look at the news. Muslims are becoming radicalized. All around the world.

The third world war is escalating - it is morphing into a true clash of civilizations. President Bush, while I support and respect, is remarkably naive about some of this.

Democracy and free trade are not magic. There is a philosophy in western cultures, which combine with them, to create the good characteristics of America.

Democracy combined with, for example, Pakistan - created another Taliban. Free trade combined with the Peoples Republic of China - destroyed our industrial base.

It's time for some REALPOLITIC for a change.

We need to start looking out for ourselves. The world is becoming dangerous. The PRC (probably coordinating efforst with Russia) is methodically orchestrating *our* encirclement.

We're the target. Bigtime.

WAKE UP PRESIDENT BUSH.

[FreedomNeocon]

We should monitor our own ports.

This is mostly a political/media thing (heh, that ironically, our side started while pointing out how insane the Chaney hysteria was)

The thing is we weren't doing it before. It was a British company and a Chinese company that did the port security before. The UAE company just bought them.

The whole question is should Bush have stepped in and noticed and said 'no way', but its not like they directly made this kind of call.

Anyway, this 'argument' is waaaaaaay to suspicious for most non-engagued Americans, and I think Bush will back down on it. Which I have to say I don't mind.

In all reality, the UAE firm has so much invested and owns so many major ports, they would probably be totally professional... but I don't think you can make that argument to most people UNLESS you explain there is no American firm to do this, and IF there was, it would be a "Halliburton" type company, which the libs would hate for 'getting all the port jobs' anyway.

[Muleteam1]

This sounds like a good idea. We could also privatize the U.S. Border Patrol and take contract bids from Central and South America. Nuts on this proposal.

Muleteam1

[LachlanMinnesota]

My problem is that I don't know what ownership means. What does the owner really control in a situation like this. One would assume taut they control everything, from regulating who and what comes into the ports, to who is hired and who is fired.

Homeland security says they checked out all they needed to make certain that the security of the US is well considered. What does that mean? We ran the names of the owners through the computers and learned that they all had clean records?

Did we put "rules" in place for how they are to keep the people of the US safe? That means nothing if the rules are never enforced.

Homeland security says they have all the resources they need for the Mexican border patrol, yet thousands penetrate our borders.

I'm sorry, but I support anyone who does something concrete about our border security, and the monitoring and control of our ports is right up there with the southern border and illegal immigration.

Talk is cheap, but I see only window dressing on this issue, when it comes to allowing Muslim princes own American ports which have long been identified as probable targets for terrorism by Muslim extremists.

This is a mistake on so may fronts. Let the Muslims princes invest in other things that are not so closely connected with National Security.

Would you allow these same people to buy American fighter plane manufacturers?

[Euro-American Scum]

"We make sure there are assurances in place, in general, sufficient to satisfy us that the deal is appropriate from a national security standpoint,"

Oh, wow! There are assurances in place. Wish I knew that before. I feel so much better.

[trubluolyguy]

Chertoff needs to STEPOFF.

[Spunky]

"Somone wake me up when it's over. It has to be a nightmare."

No, it's not a nightmare. We have finally reached

[sasha123]

Currently there are no requirements that a port worker needs to be a US citizen

[goldstategop]

I oppose the deal and will support legislation to stop it. And if the Administration does not reverse course they may have to issue their first veto. This is one I think will be overriden by Congress.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")